Mobile first design, Mobile only or Mobile responsive?
- Love it or hate it, you cannot ignore it.
Let’s face it: The time spent on mobile devices is far greater than that spent on desktop devices. In certain countries, about 90% of total digital time is spent on mobile. This means that it is totally worthwhile to focus your resources and attention on your mobile strategy. As part of that strategy, let’s work together to determine your larger direction: Mobile first, Mobile only, or Mobile responsive. It is important in the beginning to align to the strategic direction that connects with your business goals and that best fits your context. Mobile first:
Choose this if your user base is already more on mobile than on desktop, or if it might become larger in the near future. Definitely do not choose mobile first if your users are not going to browse your applications on their smartphones. If your mobile user experience is central to your product, then mobile first design makes the most sense.Mobile only:
Snapchat chose this for a reason! Choose this if your product/ service is going to be used only on handhelds, if it is targeted to a demographic that doesn’t use desktops, or if your product is browsed in situations that are handheld friendly and not as desktop friendly; for instance, a messaging app that people use when they’re walking or standing in line.Mobile responsive or adaptive:
Choose this if your browser based application is used mostly on desktops, but your mobile traffic is playing catch up. You’re quite not there yet when it comes to mobile adoption, or your application doesn’t need it. Choose responsive or adaptive depending on how and what you’d want your users to browse. A Word Processor app like Google Docs benefits from a mobile responsive / adaptive design.- Think about the pros and cons of each approach before jumping into the solution: Mobile responsive/ adaptive takes time to master, is more expensive than mobile first design or mobile only, and takes more time and resources to develop. As a mobile development company, we can help you identify and deploy the right solution
Our approach to Mobility focuses on your unique context first, before we create solutions for you.This structure maximizes the value that we can offer you.
OUR MOBILE UX DESIGN PRINCIPLES
With years of practice in Mobile Experience, our mobile design company has developed a core set of principles , which we’ll adapt to your unique scenario.
Focus : Do only What’s absolutely Essential
It is easy to bombard with functionality. It is hard to restrain our enthusiasm. It is even harder to focus only on what’s absolutely essential!
How do we propose to achieve that? We advocate the practice of restricting user goals to no more than one per screen. By doing this, you are making it very clear to the user, what s/he has to do and what comes.
Intuition : Do not Reinvent the wheel, When its not Necessary
As mobile platforms are fast maturing, users are increasingly getting used to certain patterns of usage. Breaking those patterns can result in disengagement.
Menus, Interactions, Actions, Components… there are expected patterns for these. We recommend staying away from reinventing these; unless you're ready to take that risk!
Visual mastery : People believe what Is demonstrated… And it better be Impressive
Ofcourse, we believe that “UX is not what it looks like, but how it works”. We also believe that, the only way of showing how it works, is by demonstrating it!
Visual mastery is one of the most critical elements of mobile interactions… and encompasses Visual Branding, Consistency, Communication style and Integrity. Without a comprehensive strategy to achieve it, our proposition can seem “make do”
Simplicity : If its not simple, it is not understood
In the hyperconnected world we are living in today, the attention span of our users is coming down with each passing day. In this context, it is our responsibility to build and deliver experiences that are easy to comprehend…
No convoluted models, no repetitive steps, no deep hierarchies. Everything, upfront, simple and clear!
Validation : Always Validate before you Market
We recommend building mockups and prototypes to test with users or among stakeholders, before going to market.
Mobile UX is complex; interfaces are supposed to be used while on the move, when users are doing hundred other things at the same time. With this reality, it is going to be very risky to hit the market without enough validation.
Always validate; it costs much lesser than failure!
