The Mobile First Approach

Surely many people remember their first push-button mobile phone: after each exit to the browser, they had to anxiously check the balance on the account. Initially, mobile Internet was expensive, inconvenient to use and extremely limited in capabilities. Website optimization for various types of devices has long been one of the mandatory items in the technical task for development. And today you can increasingly hear about the Mobile First https://www.dataart.com/services-and-technology/enterprise-software-development

approach. The Mobile First strategy, as the name suggests, involves designing a website interface primarily focused on mobile devices. The philosophy of the approach is that first a prototype design is created for the smallest screen, and then developers move on to larger displays.
Traditionally, the process of creating websites begins with the development of a layout for computers and laptops, because they have high performance, and a lot of content can be placed on a large screen. Then the ready-made version adapts to other devices, taking into account their capabilities. Why did you need to come up with a concept in which everything goes in reverse order?
The fact is that not all visual and functional elements of desktop sites can be transferred to the mobile version, while maintaining the same ease of interaction. Quite often, website optimization for smartphones is accompanied by various problems: long page loading, difficult navigation, inconvenient buttons, etc.
When comparing the “desktop first” and “mobile first" approaches, two methodologies are often mentioned that help to better understand their basic logic:
Elegant degradation - initially the interface is thought out with all the complexities, the most complete set of functions and various effects. Then some of the elements are cut off for devices with weaker characteristics. This is how adaptive websites designed on the Desktop First principle work.
Progressive development means the development of a product designed primarily for devices with a large number of limitations. This version has the most necessary set of functions and can gradually acquire new options depending on the technical capabilities of other devices. Thus, by creating a basic layout for a mobile phone, we get a website that is guaranteed to work on tablets, laptops and PCs.
It is definitely impossible to say that web design based on the principle of “mobile first” is suitable for everyone. This concept has its strengths and weaknesses, so every company should weigh all the pros and cons before deciding on its use.
Advantages
User-friendliness
No small fonts, cropped pictures and inappropriate page scaling. When developing a UX site focused on mobile devices, priority is given to the convenience of actions on a small screen. The user's path is thought out taking into account all the restrictions that may arise in the mobile version of the site.
The constant increase in conversion and customer retention is the concern of every company. The positive experience of interacting with the product on all devices contributes to achieving these goals along with a high level of service and quality of services, as well as a competent communication strategy. According to statistics, if a website is not optimized for a mobile phone, users will visit it less, even if they like the product or content.
Fast page loading
One or two seconds is the amount of time most people are ready to wait for the so-called "first rendering of content". Even if the user is interested in the description of the page in the search results, there is a risk that he will leave the site, which takes a long time to load.
Pages that are immediately optimized for mobile devices load faster than adaptive ones.
One of the main reasons why the approach has not yet gained large-scale popularity is an impressive amount of work. Designers and developers have to prepare not one version of the layout of each unique page, but several: for mobile, tablet and desktop devices with different screen parameters. At the same time, you need to remember about old devices with a small resolution and non-standard characteristics. And when new models with a previously unused diagonal are released, you will have to prepare another version of the layout.
As a result, the project to create a website becomes more expensive and time-consuming to implement in comparison with the usual Desktop First method. However, if you do not consider the costs and profits in the short term, after a while you can feel the real benefits of such an investment. Does it make sense to make a website quickly and inexpensively if users get lost on its pages in a sea of minor elements or get annoyed by an inconvenient interface and slow loading on mobile? Obviously not.
And what do you think: "mobile first" is a short-lived trend or a great prospect for the future, which is worth looking at now? Will mobile phones displace the desktop in the near future?