Jan 16, 2026
Mobile-First or Mobile-Only?
What to Consider When Designing for Mobile Users in 2026
From online shopping to entertainment, from work on-the-go to daily planning, the smartphone has become the one device people rely on for all their content and connectivity needs.
Research shows that Americans spend close to 5 hours and 16 minutes on their phones every day. This is higher among Gen Z - they spend nearly 6 hours and 27 minutes on their smartphones.
For most B2C brands, Millennials and Gen Z make up a good portion of their target audience. Studies show that these 2 generations are responsible for 32% of spending.
What does this data indicate?
For businesses that plan to capture their audiences’ attention online, a website or app interface that does not factor in mobile relevance, can be damaging. Designing for mobile users can be a game-changer.
Mobile is Relevant to Your Digital-First Consumers
Below are a few interesting facts that will help understand digital-first consumers:
Consumers are increasingly willing to purchase online. M-commerce (sales made via smartphones) is likely to touch $710 billion in 2025, a huge surge from $360 billion 4 years prior.
Consumers are increasingly willing to make payments online. Transactions made via mobiles touched $8.1 trillion in 2024, reflecting an annual rise of 9.4%.
Consumers, especially Gen Z, are increasingly showing a willingness to reach out for customer support via phone calls. According to a McKinsey & Company’s report, 71% of this generation showed an interest in connecting for help through live calls.
This brings us to a key question we hear clients ask. Which approach should we take - mobile-first or mobile-only, for UI when designing for mobile users?
Before we give you our take, let’s look at what it means, to be mobile-first and mobile-only.
Mobile-first 101
When a client uses a mobile-first approach when designing for mobile users, it means that they are looking at developing or designing for the smallest screen first. Typically, that's the mobile. This mobile-first marketing strategy allows design teams to look at working around the challenges that a small screen poses first, and then working their way up to bigger screens. So, is mobile-first enough today? Yes, for businesses looking for these benefits:
Designers get to understand which design elements cannot be accommodated on a small screen and do away with them, reducing clutter.
The key features and thumb-friendly designs that lend most to user interface get priority and are retained
Scaling upward is easier for developers most times and this approach allows for it.
Mobile-First can provide the scope to reduce the costs that companies may incur if they have to redesign once they realize that elements used for large screens cannot be adopted in smaller screens.
The more optimized the designs are, the better the load times are, the greater the productivity and the lesser the mobile data charges.
Mobile-only 101
As the name suggests, mobile-only, allows customers to connect with you or purchase/consume your product or service only on the hand-held device. An exclusive mobile commerce strategy is well-suited for businesses that are looking for:
Reduced cost of designing and developing for other platforms like desktops and tablets too.
Greater focus on providing customers with a memorable experience. With just one point of interface that a business has to focus on, more attention can be paid to creating an experience that will leave a lasting impression.
Quicker go-to-market times allows thumb-friendly design and development to be closed quite quickly when the focus is just one device type or form factor.
When we weigh the benefits and risks of mobile-only experiences against those of mobile-first experience, we would propose a mobile-first approach. One of the key reasons is that with a mobile-only strategy, you may end up missing out on an important percentage of your audience - those that prefer the laptop or desktop or tablet.
They may not get to explore your business if they don't have access to it on the systems they are familiar with. So, if we encounter clients who are certain that they want to prioritize the mobile, we encourage them to go mobile-first.
That said, we believe that there are a few instances when to go mobile-only. Some types of businesses will benefit from being app-only or mobile-only initially. This is especially so for businesses that are short on time, are expecting a large adoption on mobile devices and are willing to build their websites in subsequent phases.
In case you're looking to build a mobile-first or mobile-only website, do get in touch with us at weareskago@skagodesign.com or at +919538492713. We are happy to even provide consultation to help you compare the pros and cons of both, for your brand.
From online shopping to entertainment, from work on-the-go to daily planning, the smartphone has become the one device people rely on for all their content and connectivity needs.
Research shows that Americans spend close to 5 hours and 16 minutes on their phones every day. This is higher among Gen Z - they spend nearly 6 hours and 27 minutes on their smartphones.
For most B2C brands, Millennials and Gen Z make up a good portion of their target audience. Studies show that these 2 generations are responsible for 32% of spending.
What does this data indicate?
For businesses that plan to capture their audiences’ attention online, a website or app interface that does not factor in mobile relevance, can be damaging. Designing for mobile users can be a game-changer.
Mobile is Relevant to Your Digital-First Consumers
Below are a few interesting facts that will help understand digital-first consumers:
Consumers are increasingly willing to purchase online. M-commerce (sales made via smartphones) is likely to touch $710 billion in 2025, a huge surge from $360 billion 4 years prior.
Consumers are increasingly willing to make payments online. Transactions made via mobiles touched $8.1 trillion in 2024, reflecting an annual rise of 9.4%.
Consumers, especially Gen Z, are increasingly showing a willingness to reach out for customer support via phone calls. According to a McKinsey & Company’s report, 71% of this generation showed an interest in connecting for help through live calls.
This brings us to a key question we hear clients ask. Which approach should we take - mobile-first or mobile-only, for UI when designing for mobile users?
Before we give you our take, let’s look at what it means, to be mobile-first and mobile-only.
Mobile-first 101
When a client uses a mobile-first approach when designing for mobile users, it means that they are looking at developing or designing for the smallest screen first. Typically, that's the mobile. This mobile-first marketing strategy allows design teams to look at working around the challenges that a small screen poses first, and then working their way up to bigger screens. So, is mobile-first enough today? Yes, for businesses looking for these benefits:
Designers get to understand which design elements cannot be accommodated on a small screen and do away with them, reducing clutter.
The key features and thumb-friendly designs that lend most to user interface get priority and are retained
Scaling upward is easier for developers most times and this approach allows for it.
Mobile-First can provide the scope to reduce the costs that companies may incur if they have to redesign once they realize that elements used for large screens cannot be adopted in smaller screens.
The more optimized the designs are, the better the load times are, the greater the productivity and the lesser the mobile data charges.
Mobile-only 101
As the name suggests, mobile-only, allows customers to connect with you or purchase/consume your product or service only on the hand-held device. An exclusive mobile commerce strategy is well-suited for businesses that are looking for:
Reduced cost of designing and developing for other platforms like desktops and tablets too.
Greater focus on providing customers with a memorable experience. With just one point of interface that a business has to focus on, more attention can be paid to creating an experience that will leave a lasting impression.
Quicker go-to-market times allows thumb-friendly design and development to be closed quite quickly when the focus is just one device type or form factor.
When we weigh the benefits and risks of mobile-only experiences against those of mobile-first experience, we would propose a mobile-first approach. One of the key reasons is that with a mobile-only strategy, you may end up missing out on an important percentage of your audience - those that prefer the laptop or desktop or tablet.
They may not get to explore your business if they don't have access to it on the systems they are familiar with. So, if we encounter clients who are certain that they want to prioritize the mobile, we encourage them to go mobile-first.
That said, we believe that there are a few instances when to go mobile-only. Some types of businesses will benefit from being app-only or mobile-only initially. This is especially so for businesses that are short on time, are expecting a large adoption on mobile devices and are willing to build their websites in subsequent phases.
In case you're looking to build a mobile-first or mobile-only website, do get in touch with us at weareskago@skagodesign.com or at +919538492713. We are happy to even provide consultation to help you compare the pros and cons of both, for your brand.
From online shopping to entertainment, from work on-the-go to daily planning, the smartphone has become the one device people rely on for all their content and connectivity needs.
Research shows that Americans spend close to 5 hours and 16 minutes on their phones every day. This is higher among Gen Z - they spend nearly 6 hours and 27 minutes on their smartphones.
For most B2C brands, Millennials and Gen Z make up a good portion of their target audience. Studies show that these 2 generations are responsible for 32% of spending.
What does this data indicate?
For businesses that plan to capture their audiences’ attention online, a website or app interface that does not factor in mobile relevance, can be damaging. Designing for mobile users can be a game-changer.
Mobile is Relevant to Your Digital-First Consumers
Below are a few interesting facts that will help understand digital-first consumers:
Consumers are increasingly willing to purchase online. M-commerce (sales made via smartphones) is likely to touch $710 billion in 2025, a huge surge from $360 billion 4 years prior.
Consumers are increasingly willing to make payments online. Transactions made via mobiles touched $8.1 trillion in 2024, reflecting an annual rise of 9.4%.
Consumers, especially Gen Z, are increasingly showing a willingness to reach out for customer support via phone calls. According to a McKinsey & Company’s report, 71% of this generation showed an interest in connecting for help through live calls.
This brings us to a key question we hear clients ask. Which approach should we take - mobile-first or mobile-only, for UI when designing for mobile users?
Before we give you our take, let’s look at what it means, to be mobile-first and mobile-only.
Mobile-first 101
When a client uses a mobile-first approach when designing for mobile users, it means that they are looking at developing or designing for the smallest screen first. Typically, that's the mobile. This mobile-first marketing strategy allows design teams to look at working around the challenges that a small screen poses first, and then working their way up to bigger screens. So, is mobile-first enough today? Yes, for businesses looking for these benefits:
Designers get to understand which design elements cannot be accommodated on a small screen and do away with them, reducing clutter.
The key features and thumb-friendly designs that lend most to user interface get priority and are retained
Scaling upward is easier for developers most times and this approach allows for it.
Mobile-First can provide the scope to reduce the costs that companies may incur if they have to redesign once they realize that elements used for large screens cannot be adopted in smaller screens.
The more optimized the designs are, the better the load times are, the greater the productivity and the lesser the mobile data charges.
Mobile-only 101
As the name suggests, mobile-only, allows customers to connect with you or purchase/consume your product or service only on the hand-held device. An exclusive mobile commerce strategy is well-suited for businesses that are looking for:
Reduced cost of designing and developing for other platforms like desktops and tablets too.
Greater focus on providing customers with a memorable experience. With just one point of interface that a business has to focus on, more attention can be paid to creating an experience that will leave a lasting impression.
Quicker go-to-market times allows thumb-friendly design and development to be closed quite quickly when the focus is just one device type or form factor.
When we weigh the benefits and risks of mobile-only experiences against those of mobile-first experience, we would propose a mobile-first approach. One of the key reasons is that with a mobile-only strategy, you may end up missing out on an important percentage of your audience - those that prefer the laptop or desktop or tablet.
They may not get to explore your business if they don't have access to it on the systems they are familiar with. So, if we encounter clients who are certain that they want to prioritize the mobile, we encourage them to go mobile-first.
That said, we believe that there are a few instances when to go mobile-only. Some types of businesses will benefit from being app-only or mobile-only initially. This is especially so for businesses that are short on time, are expecting a large adoption on mobile devices and are willing to build their websites in subsequent phases.
In case you're looking to build a mobile-first or mobile-only website, do get in touch with us at weareskago@skagodesign.com or at +919538492713. We are happy to even provide consultation to help you compare the pros and cons of both, for your brand.
