People using internet from their mobile phone or any other such gadgets are increasing. It is soon possible browsing from desktops will be minimal, just for official purpose. In such case mobile first approach can prove very feasible for web designers and developers. The idea here is to create basic design which works well on mobile phones and then go on adding more design elements and features for tabs, laptops and desktop versions.
Constraints on Mobile Design
The world of mobile phones is unstable, diverse and at the same time restrictive. Screen size is the main constraint while designing layout for mobiles and smart phones. Another constraint is portrait and landscape orientation of these devices. Performance and limited bandwidth, mobile data-packs could be additional limitations. So it forces developers to create effective designs which convey main message rather than having fancy design patterns and heavy images. One positive thing to note here is that designer can put all focus on the main contents rather than peripheral design elements. The design can grow with the same main content layout for other bigger devices.
Using Desktop Version with Fluid Layout on Mobile
Designing websites for mobile phones or smart phones require a very basic features and hence mobile first approach works very well. It is not just about fitting the desktop design on mobile screen but to design a good and comfortable user experience while a user browse your website from smaller device. Designers always think that if they make fluid layouts, then their website will fit or scale down to fit inside small screens. But when it comes to browse or use the same desktop website from mobile device, user can face lots of problems. Scrolling vertically (sometimes horizontally too) to read long paragraphs, clicking on small-sized buttons and links, navigating from one page to other can be real difficult and user may need to use zoom feature.