Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

by Krug Steve

One approach was Mobile First. Instead of designing a full-featured (and perhaps bloated) version of your Web site first and then paring it down to create the mobile version, you design the mobile version first based on the features and content that are most important to your users. Then you add on more features and content to create the desktop/full version. It was a great idea. For one thing, Mobile First meant that you would work hard to determine what was really essential, what people needed most. Always a good thing to do. But some people interpreted it to mean that you should choose what to include based on what people want to do when they’re mobile. This assumed that when people accessed the mobile version they were “on the move,” not sitting at their desk, so they’d only need the kinds of features you’d use on the move. For example, you might want to check your bank balances while out shopping, but you wouldn’t be likely to reconcile your checkbook or set up a new account.