Mobile-First Web Design vs. Mobile-First Indexing

Have you been hearing this buzzword, “mobile-first?”  It’s one of the most prevalent web design initiatives that has been pushed over the past few years. While most web designers understand what this design process entails, many business owners find themselves going along with this suggestion without knowing what exactly it is.

In order to get the most from mobile-first web design, learning the basics is imperative. Here is some information about this initiative and why it is so important for high search rankings and conversion optimization.

What is Mobile-first Web Design?

A few years ago, mobile devices surpassed desktops for web usage, and it continues to grow. This means that the average website now gets more visits from mobile devices than desktop devices. Therefore, designing a website that is looks and performs well on mobile devices is imperative!

Mobile-first Design vs. Mobile-first Indexing

“Mobile-first” is a term that can be used interchangeably when talking about web design and SEO. However, there’s a difference between mobile-first design and mobile-first indexing.

• Mobile-first Indexing: In March of 2018, Google started rolling out their mobile-first indexing initiative into their core algorithm. This means that when Google crawls and indexes a site, their spider (as known as Googlebot) looks at the mobile version first. If the mobile site does not meet their quality standards, then the website’s search rankings may lose their positions.
• Mobile-first Design: The practice of designing the mobile experience of a website before the desktop experience is known as mobile-first design. With the rise of web usage from mobile devices, web design companies and developers are implementing this type of design.

Why is Mobile-first Important?

To put it bluntly, mobile is where everyone is looking these days. Think about it, when you are out of the home or office and need quick information, do you wait till you’re back in front of a desktop or look on your phone? When you’re with friends and need to find somewhere to order a pizza, do you grab a phone book?

Google is usually at the forefront of user experience and knows that mobile browsing is the future, and the future is here. If you’re a marketer or a business owner, then you are probably aware that SEO is important for your business. Mobile-friendly websites will always outperform other websites that don’t perform well on mobile devices.

With current data showing that mobile usage has far surpassed desktop usage since 2016, it should be very clear why the initiative is important. Having a smooth mobile experience for your site and product design is important. Gone are the days where re-sizing the browser to fit a mobile screen is deemed acceptable. Now having a mobile site that functions just as well as its desktop sibling is the standard that consumers have come to expect.

If your mobile site is not delivering a fast, usable experience, then your probability of losing potential customers is very high.

Get Your Website Mobile-Ready with Big D Creative

If you are interested in venturing into mobile-first web design but don’t have the experience to get beyond a standard responsive website, Big D Creative can help. We understand that the user experience means everything. That is why we take every effort to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly and has excellent function across all platforms and devices. Contact us today to schedule the start of your new site design.