How to make your WordPress site mobile-first

January 28. 2020

In the past several years you were, maybe, able to get away without designing your website to be mobile-friendly. This is, unfortunately, no more. There is no denying it and no getting away from it. People are using their mobile phones more than ever. They are being used more than computers, laptops and devices alike. So, what do you do to adapt? Well, you have to take a step forward and get with the times. Your websites simply have to become mobile-friendly. This is precisely why we are going to talk about how you can make your WordPress site mobile-first.

This may all sound a bit overwhelming when you look at it from start, but in truth, it isn’t. If you are wondering what does it mean to make your WordPress site mobile-first, it means that you will prioritize customers that are going to view your content on their smartphones. Granted, there is a very huge rise in the number of people using their phones. Practically, everyone has one, from age 10 to age 80. This is why you need to improvise, adapt and overcome. If mobiles are first, your content should cater to it. This is why we are going to discuss how you can make your WordPress site mobile-first.

Let’s see how you can make your WordPress site mobile-first

The good news is that you can do this almost free of charge. The first thing that comes to mind when changes like this are introduced is – am I going to be able to afford this transition? Yes, most definitely. You will rock it! With a few handy tips and tricks, you will know exactly what you need to do in order to make it happen. So, what do you need? A few skills, a few tricks, and have a little research done. Reading this article is already a brilliant start.

The next question that will be addressed online is most likely going to be “Why do you need a desktop-friendly website”. This is the extent to which the need for mobile browsing grew. This is why Google has developed a very specific mobile-friendly algorithm that is being applied to mobile search results. Hence this is why you need to take full advantage of this as it may rank your website higher than ever.

What is mobile-first?

There are a few approaches to making content. One is PC first, the other is Mobile-first. This just means that you will be prioritizing optimization for one over the other. If you were to go mobile-first, this means that your content will primarily be optimized for mobile devices, but will be able to scale on PC screens. Still, this means that the optimum experience will happen on the computer screen, and you will see functional content on the PC. If you were to go PC first, it would be the same as above mentioned, just switching the prioritized screen real estates.

Screen real estates are actually the vital element that dictates content creation. The size of a phone screen is no more than 6.5 inches, whereas the PC screen goes up to 60. This means that, ultimately, you will have far less room to fit things on for mobile users, meaning that once you make the site – it may seem a bit blankish on the PC screens. Which is fine, as this is what you were aiming at anyway. So, let’s see how you can make your content mobile first!

Choose to have a responsive WordPress theme

First of all, this is maybe the most obvious one – bust still had to be mentioned. If you wish to create content that is mobile-friendly – the first step is to start choosing templates that allow for this. Maybe a full transition to mobile-first would be a bit too extreme at first. A nice way to make this transition is to make mobile responsive content, and still, stick to what you know how to do very well. The themes will do most of the work for you!

So, the first step towards knowing how to make your WordPress site mobile-first is to pick the themes that allow for this to happen.

Or simply use themes for mobile

There are themes that are not focusing on being responsive, but rather on creating fully dedicated content for mobile viewing. This is what it means to go mobile-first. This is, by far, the cheapest and fastest way to make your WordPress site mobile-first. There is one super neat plugin called Mobile Smart that you can use exactly for this purpose. There is a free and a pro version, both obviously have their benefits. If you are thinking of saving money, the free version will do just fine.

Be sure all plugins are responsive – make your WordPress site mobile-first

Above all else, you should start thinking about pushing all of your existing content into responsive waters. Do your research and figure out all the best plugins that are pushing towards responsiveness. This won’t be too much work as the plugins, once found, do most of the work for you. This is due to the fact that WordPress is actually a brilliant tool.

Other than that, start thinking from the perspective of a user. Think of websites that you observe on your mobile device and you’ll remember positive experiences you had. Try to mimic these and you’ll make your users just as happy! If you are still unclear about all this – contact us and we’ll gladly help!