Your customers aren’t browsing your website on a desktop computer anymore. They’re scrolling through your services whilst waiting for their coffee, checking your opening hours on the bus, or comparing prices whilst standing in your competitor’s shop. Yet I still see businesses launching websites that look great on a 27-inch monitor but fall apart on a phone screen.

This is something I see too often here in Cardiff. A local restaurant owner came to us recently after their previous designer delivered a site that looked stunning on desktop but was completely unusable on mobile. Their bookings had dropped by 40% because customers simply couldn’t navigate the menu or find the phone number on their phones.

What Is Mobile First Website Design?

Mobile first website design means exactly what it sounds like: you start by designing for the smallest screen first, then work your way up to larger devices. It’s the complete opposite of how most people used to think about websites.

In my experience, this approach forces you to focus on what actually matters. When you’ve got limited screen space, every element has to earn its place. You can’t hide poor content behind flashy animations or cluttered layouts.

We build all our WordPress sites using Bricks builder with this mobile first approach. I always start with the phone view, get that perfect, then scale up to tablets and desktops. The result? Sites that work brilliantly everywhere.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Mobile Traffic Dominates

According to Statista, mobile devices account for over 60% of all website traffic globally. In the UK, that figure is even higher for local businesses. Think about your own browsing habits: when did you last search for a local service on a desktop computer?

Google’s been pushing mobile first indexing since 2019. This means they primarily use your mobile site for ranking and indexing. If your mobile site is rubbish, your search rankings suffer. It’s that simple.

Honestly, I think too many businesses still don’t grasp this fundamental shift. They’re designing for a world that existed 10 years ago, not the one we’re living in today.

Why Desktop First Design Fails in 2025

Desktop first design is like trying to fit a double bed into a single bedroom. You end up cramming everything in, and nothing works properly.

When designers start with desktop, they typically create layouts with multiple columns, large images, and complex navigation systems. Then they try to squeeze all of this onto a mobile screen. The result? Tiny text, buttons you can’t tap, and navigation that disappears behind hamburger menus.

I’ve seen countless Wix and Squarespace sites that suffer from exactly this problem. Their templates look decent on desktop but become completely unusable on mobile. The business owners don’t realise because they’re probably checking their site on their laptop, not experiencing it how their customers do.

The Mobile First Advantage

Starting with mobile forces better design decisions. You have to prioritise content, streamline navigation, and focus on user goals. These constraints actually make you a better designer.

Here’s what we focus on when building mobile first:

• Touch-friendly buttons: Minimum 44px tap targets, with proper spacing
• Readable text: 16px minimum font size without zooming
• Simple navigation: Clear, logical menu structures
• Fast loading: Optimised images and minimal code
• Essential content first: Contact details, key services, clear calls to action

When you then scale up to desktop, you’ve got a solid foundation. You can add enhancements, but the core experience remains excellent.

SEO Benefits of Mobile First Design

Google’s mobile first indexing isn’t just a technical detail, it’s a fundamental shift in how search works. If your mobile site loads slowly, has poor usability, or missing content, your rankings will suffer across all devices.

Core Web Vitals, Google’s page experience signals, are measured primarily on mobile. This includes loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. A properly built mobile first site naturally performs better on these metrics.

My honest advice? Stop chasing the latest SEO tricks and focus on building websites that actually work well for your users. Google’s recent updates consistently reward sites that provide genuine value and excellent user experience.

Common Mobile Design Mistakes

I see the same mistakes repeatedly when businesses try to DIY their mobile experience:

Tiny text and buttons: If users need to pinch and zoom to read your content or tap a button, you’ve failed. This is especially common with those cheap Fiverr sites that look like desktop sites shrunk down.

Horizontal scrolling: Your content should never require horizontal scrolling on mobile. It’s 2025, not 2005.

Slow loading images: Massive desktop images that take forever to load on mobile data connections. We always optimise images for different screen sizes.

Hidden contact information: Your phone number and address should be immediately visible, not buried in a menu somewhere.

Building Mobile First with WordPress

This is exactly why we use WordPress with Bricks builder for all our client sites. Unlike those trendy React or NextJS sites that look impressive but lock clients out of editing, WordPress gives you complete control over your mobile experience.

Bricks builder’s responsive design tools let us fine tune every element for different screen sizes. We can show different content, adjust layouts, and optimise performance specifically for mobile users.

More importantly, our clients can make their own updates and see exactly how they’ll look on mobile. Try doing that with a custom coded site from one of those big agencies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I have a separate mobile site?

Absolutely not. Responsive design is the way forward. Having separate sites creates maintenance headaches and can hurt your SEO. One site that adapts to all screen sizes is much better.

How do I know if my site is mobile friendly?

Google’s Mobile Friendly Test is a good starting point, but the best test is using your own site on your phone. Can you easily find what you need? Are buttons easy to tap? Is text readable without zooming?

Will mobile first design make my desktop site look boring?

Not at all. Mobile first forces you to focus on what’s important, which actually makes for better desktop design too. You can then enhance the desktop experience with additional features and content.

How much does mobile first website design cost?

It shouldn’t cost extra because it’s simply good design practice. Any professional web designer in 2025 should be building mobile first by default. If they’re not, find someone else.

The Bottom Line

Mobile first website design isn’t a trend or a nice to have feature. It’s fundamental to running a business online in 2025. Your customers are on their phones, Google prioritises mobile sites, and the gap is only widening.

If you’re currently stuck with a desktop first site that doesn’t work properly on mobile, you’re losing customers every day. Those potential clients aren’t waiting around for your site to load or trying to navigate your tiny menus. They’re going to your competitor who got this right.

At Web Cardiff, we’ve been building mobile first WordPress sites for years because it simply works better. Our approach starts with your mobile users and scales up from there, ensuring every visitor gets an excellent experience regardless of their device.

Want to see how a proper mobile first site could transform your business? Get in touch for a no obligation chat about what we can do for your Cardiff business.