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Why Mobile-First Design is Essential for Responsive Websites
Using the mobile-first approach is very important, here's why.
As a developer wouldn't you like to go back to the days when websites were viewed on only one type of device, and all you had to do was build a website that accommodated that screen size without worrying about trying to make it responsive? yeah, me too(not really where's the fun in that lol).
Fortunately, we're living in an age where there are various devices like mobile devices, tablets, laptops and larger screens like monitors e.t.c and you MUST create your website in a way that accommodates all these various screen sizes. This means that all your websites must be responsive and you must prioritize mobile devices while building them.
Why is there priority on mobile devices
Statistics say that 80% of internet users surf the net using mobile devices and every single one of them expects to have a seamless experience when viewing sites on their devices(no pressure). Because of this large number, it is advised to prioritize mobile devices when building your websites by using the mobile-first approach and gradually working your way up to larger screens.
What is the mobile-first approach
The mobile-first approach is a method of developing a website in a way that prioritizes building the mobile site first, and gradually working your way up to larger screen sizes by using media queries.
Why mobile first
Besides the fact that most users would view your websites using mobile devices, on smaller screens all of the content is often displayed on a single column, thereby leaving the developer with space limitations when building for mobile. The mobile-first approach forces the developer to focus only on the important content needed for the webpage and nothing extra. This would help you have simpler and more optimized code.
Also, If you structure your HTML code well, you would discover that everything sits properly on the page, and websites are naturally responsive before you even begin to add any CSS to the website.
By using the mobile-first approach you would have DRYer code (DRY means Do not Repeat Yourself) which is usually the way to go when writing code as a developer. If you develop for larger screens first, you would notice that when trying to scale down, you would have to write more code than normal or you would just find yourself resetting everything back to how they initially were from the beginning. You would agree with me that this is more time-consuming and stressful.
Tips on how to implement the mobile-first approach
Focus on what is important. Carefully plan out content and only place what is necessary for the user on the mobile webpage.
Structure your HTML properly. If you do this you would find that everything becomes easier and you can continue to scale your design up from there.
Using CSS flexbox and/or grid helps makes some elements like cards responsive by default, that way you would write less code trying to optimize for larger screens.
Use media queries where necessary to further optimize your website for various screen sizes.
Summary
Mobile first is the way to go, because mobile users are more than desktop users.
The mobile-first approach helps save you time and helps you write less code.
The mobile-first approach allows you to have simpler and more optimized code.