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In the early days of smartphones and mobile communications, consumers were happy to be able to access websites with their mobile phones. When was that, two years ago? Things are moving fast in this space, and expectations have changed dramatically in this short time.  Now consumers want mobile-optimized websites. And this doesn’t mean you just move your existing web content to a different format.

The first stage in this transition was to have a mobile-friendly website.  This meant sensing the device being used and presenting the same content in the appropriate form.  It also meant streamlining content so it is more digestible in the smaller screen format. Now, however, the trend for an increasing number of marketers is a “mobile first” strategy.

What does this mean? The key difference between PC users and mobile users is that mobile users are focused.  PC users are generally multitasking, between work, play and casual research. Mobile users are on the go and want fast answers. They are also usually transaction-oriented. They may be looking to buy a specific item, compare prices, find a location nearby that carries something they are interested in—and they are not willing to dig through layers of web content to get that information.  If your site doesn’t offer what they are looking for, surely a competitor’s does!

This means that you should carefully think through what will be most important to consumers accessing your site from a smartphone, and make those options readily available.  If you are a restaurant, the first choices you might want to offer are reservations, location and menu. A retail outlet might go for daily deals and fast product search. A dental office may offer an online appointment request form.  You get the idea.

In order to achieve this mobile first strategy, companies are using what is called Responsive Web Design. This means developing your web site in a style that allows the layout to change based on the user’s screen resolution, a completely different approach than traditional web design. For example, if the user accesses a web site from a PC, they might see a four-column design, while the same site accessed from a smartphone might be automatically simplified into two columns or even a single column. User choices can vary from PC to tablet to mobile.

This is a mobile-first approach. From the outset, the design assumes the site will be accessed by some type of mobile device, but also leaves the door open for desktop/laptop access, serving the specific needs of all of these users.

Your cross-media campaigns should also take a mobile first approach. Many recipients will be receiving your promotional emails on their phones, and using phones to snap QR Codes or other 2D barcodes or interact with your content in other ways.  Make sure that they are not disappointed by the layout and content that appears when they do.

For more insight into this topic, a recent article by Howard Wen published by O’Reilly Radar offers mistakes to avoid and trends to watch relative to mobile interfaces. He interviews Steven Hoober, author of Designing Mobile Interfaces: Patterns for Interaction Design.

One good piece of advice from Hoober?  “Mobile must never be a dumbed-down, limited experience. Sure, it can be different from the desktop, but users expect all information everywhere they go now. Don’t make them go to the desktop site or use their desktop for some parts of your product. If you do, they will probably find a competitor that doesn’t make them do this.”

If you haven’t already done so, start building your “mobile first” strategy and make sure it crosses all elements of the potential web experience your customers/prospects/consumers are likely to have. It’s the way of the world today—who knows what tomorrow will bring!