Mobile Web Design is a Tough Sell, but Worth Buying

Tools like progressive enhancement, mobile-first and responsive web design can lead us all toward a more unified web, but what holds many web design companies back is the firmly rooted ideas of clients. Often, business owners cling to conceptual models that don’t include the mobile Web, or at least not the mobile web at its highest potential. Here’s an example: A client wants a mobile web presence, but not a full mobile website. “Can’t you just make an mobile app for me?” he says. See what we mean here?

It can be a tough sell, because let’s be honest: A mobile website is more expensive to design. There are different screen sizes, resolutions and device capabilities, not to mention more layouts to wireframe, different gestural interactions to consider and a wide range of functional capabilities to support. It takes more time to build a site with all these things, and more time=more money. Every business owner wants to save money, and who can blame them?

But web design companies should not back down entirely. If you’re a web designer, it’s possible to justify the expense of a mobile website to the client. If you’re a business owner and the client of a web design company, you can listen too. This is the #1 reason to invest in a mobile website:

Without a mobile website, a business will still need to fork out the costs involved with trying to retrofit device-specific optimizations onto the desktop site design. Plus, that extra step takes the designer time. You may as well take it one step further and get a full mobile website. It just makes sense.

For the web designer, mobile web design may seem like a tough sell. The important thing for designers to communicate (and for clients to understand) is that it’s worth buying. To learn more about web design companies that offer mobile web design services, contact Crest Media.