In recent years, there has been a significant shift towards mobile devices, fundamentally altering how products and services are designed and delivered. The concepts of ‘mobile first’ and ‘mobile native’ have emerged as pivotal strategies in this evolving ecosystem, each with its own set of principles and implications for businesses and developers. Here, I explain more.
The mobile first approach prioritises the creation of websites and applications for mobile devices over desktop or laptop versions. This strategy acknowledges the increasing prevalence of smartphones as the primary means of internet access and interaction with digital content. It encompasses not only the aesthetic aspects of web design but extends to the entirety of the customer journey, including discovery, engagement, conversion and support. The rise of mobile first can be traced back to significant milestones such as the moment in 2012 when smartphone sales surpassed those of PCs and in 2016 when mobile Internet usage outstripped desktop usage.
Implementing a mobile-first strategy involves adopting Responsive Web Design (RWD), which ensures that web content fluidly adapts to various screen sizes and resolutions. Moreover, smartphone apps are usually developed to enhance the user experience further, providing functionalities and efficiencies that mobile websites alone might not offer. It’s important to realise that this encompasses every facet of the customer journey, from the initial discovery of a product or service through to post-purchase support and engagement.
Adopting a mobile-first approach is not without its challenges and costs. The development process can be more complex and expensive than traditional web design due to the need for responsive functionality and the development of standalone applications. Additionally, businesses must contend with lower conversion rates on mobile devices, attributed to smaller screen sizes and the often fragmented attention of users. One strategy to mitigate this issue is to include features that allow users to save information for later review on larger screens or when they have more time.
Despite its advantages, mobile first is not universally applicable. Many B2B sectors, for example, continue to see higher usage rates on desktop and laptop computers, where users are typically stationary and able to engage more deeply with content. In these cases, a hybrid approach that applies mobile-first principles primarily at the early stages of the customer journey can be more effective.
Progressing beyond mobile first, the concept of ‘mobile native’ represents a more radical departure from traditional digital service delivery. Mobile native services are designed exclusively for modern smartphones, foregoing use on desktops, laptops and older mobile devices. This approach leverages the advanced capabilities of today’s smartphones, such as powerful processors, high-resolution cameras, and an array of sensors, to offer unique, context-aware services that would be challenging, if not impossible, to replicate on traditional computing platforms.
Mobile native excels in engaging younger demographics, such as millennials, who have grown up in a predominantly mobile device world. This involves simplifying business processes and offerings to fit the constraints and advantages of mobile platforms, enhancing value through the unique features of smartphones.
Mobile native apps can offer immediate service access, integrated communication tools, such as Intercom, and utilise device capabilities like cameras and sensors for innovative functionalities such as automatic id checking using services such as microBlink. However, despite attempts at simplifying processes, I have found that mobile native apps usually have many more screens that are costly to implement, especially when this has to be done on both iOS and Android.
The decision to go mobile native is not without its considerations. Exclusively targeting mobile users can purposely and inadvertently exclude certain segments of the population due to factors such as device compatibility, internet accessibility, and socio-economic barriers. Thus, businesses must carefully assess the risks and ethical implications of potentially excluding some users from their services.
