Treat It as Such
Mobile responsiveness is no longer optional. With most users accessing the internet via smartphones, websites must be designed mobile-first, prioritizing usability, performance, and touch-friendly UX. Treating a website like an app creates lasting engagement across platforms and ensures businesses don’t lose users on the first click in today’s digital landscape.
If your website isn't fit for mobile usage, then you've lost on the first click. As technology evolves, the world shifts in accordance. The early 2000s saw the rise of the internet and online culture. Very soon, the 2010s introduced the world to social media. As more and more users logged on, businesses saw the opportunity to set up in a new realm. The digital sphere presented endless possibilities with more outreach, more inbound and outbound lead generation, and especially a new form of marketing.
Websites saw the same shift, with the effects being present in the need for new types of responsivity. No longer was a responsive website bound to varying monitor sizes; now vertical formats to fit mobile devices had to be taken into consideration. In the beginning stages of all this, it wasn't a dealbreaker if a website wasn't well adjusted to mobile screens. However, in today's age, that has all changed.
Almost 60% of the global population owns a smartphone, with a large majority of people utilizing mobile devices for their sole internet usage. These are variables that need to be factored into every website that is built. A website is no longer something found only on computers, but something found in every digital space. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms are riddled with advertisements that include links redirecting users to external websites. If you follow the numbers and the global trends, then you'll realize how important mobile responsivity truly is.
Not only does a website have to be responsive on mobile, but it also needs to act like it belongs on a mobile device. This is one of the reasons why the design philosophy of websites is also shifting. In recent years, the methodology of responsive design has started to take a small to big approach when designing a website. This means starting with the smallest screen sizes readily available on the market (typically 320 pixels) and working your way up, making changes as you go. Of course, pre-planning is very important, and a lot of responsivity issues can be resolved at the wireframe stage, but either way, the design process should start at the mobile size.
With responsivity being a main focus in website design, the UX side of things also has to be applied. Mobile uses touchscreens with smaller screen sizes and less computing power than desktops. These conditions have to be factored into the design of a website. Fancy animations on every page load or interactive elements when scrolling or selecting an item may work fine on a desktop, but on a mobile device can be very hard to maintain. The same situation applies to menus and dropdowns. They should be aesthetically pleasing, yes but they need to be functional as well, especially when a finger is dragged across the screen on a smartphone.
The meaning of “Your Website Is an App” is exactly this. A website should no longer be thought of as a computer focused element, but more so as a mobile app. People download apps on their phone with the objective of keeping them; websites are temporary, as links are quick, easy to reach, and easy to share. If you treat your website as an app rather than just a custom domain inside of a URL, then you can create a permanent space on someone’s phone.
