Mobile UX Vs Web UX: What’s the Difference?
Can you remember those faraway times when we didn’t have smartphones? There was a time when desktop computers were our only connection to the digital realm, and we used phones simply to make calls and send some messages - which is what they were designed for, after all. Nowadays, mobile is king, whether we’re talking about our professional or personal lives. The first thing we reach for every morning is our phone, and we use it everywhere: on the bus, in the car, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, at school, at work, on a plane, on a boat - you get the idea.
It’s no wonder then that companies are now embracing a mobile-first strategy when creating digital products. But that doesn’t mean that people don’t still use web platforms or desktops - they just use them in a different way, and for a different purpose. Consequently, when designing a web product versus a mobile product, these differences have to be taken into account. We’re going to run through the key differences between designing mobile apps and web-based products, and figure out what developers and entrepreneurs should focus on, depending on the type of product they have to build.
Levels and layers
One of the key differences between mobile apps and web-based products lies in the way they are layered. Basically, when it comes to mobile apps, you only have one layer, or level, so designing such an app requires a one-dimensional approach. Think about it: when you access a mobile app, you get one vertical screen with all the necessary information in the open, with no hidden menus and sidebars and popups, or other unnecessary features. There is obviously not a lot of screen space to work with, so simplicity is key - no frills required.
When it comes to web-based apps, designers take a two-dimensional approach, because a desktop offers a lot more screen real estate to work with. So, you can add popup menus, sidebar navigation, both vertically and horizontally - the sky's the limit. You can, in a way, add multiple one-dimensional levels, like you would find on mobile, onto the same desktop interface. Designing web platforms is consequently a more complex affair, since there are many more layers and features to integrate and consider.
A skilled designer should be able to create a seamless desktop navigation, as well as a fun and intuitive mobile experience. While the focus is indeed on mobile nowadays, it’s not always the case, and there are certain products out there designed with the desktop user in mind, like education platforms meant to be used in classroom computers, or intricate technical products that require not only one, but two or more screens to run. At X2 Mobile, our designers have experience working both on mobile products and web-based applications, so regardless of your primary objective, they will be able to help you with both.
Information ‘hide and seek’
When building a mobile product, you definitely don’t want to be playing hide and seek with potential users. By that we mean that mobile screens have to showcase all the necessary information for a user to get a task done, right up front. There should be no hidden menus or extra navigation bars that need to be accessed - instead, all the information that a user might need should be out in the open, easily accessed with a simple tap on the screen.
Mobile users are on the move, and they don’t have time to search around an app to find the information they need to complete a task; the more you make a user work, the less inclined they will be to return to your app. The fewer clicks and taps, the better. On a desktop, however, you don’t have the same sense of urgency, and you can ‘hide’ information behind menus and popups and sidebar navigation, and let the user access information on their own time, in a structured manner.
Purpose and usability
The fact of the matter is that people use mobile and web products very differently, and developers and designers must consider this when creating a new product. Mobile apps are used primarily to complete a task: ordering an Uber, ordering food, making an appointment, completing a payment, checking the weather, and so on.
Most of the time, these tasks are immediate. Let’s say you are in front of your office building and need an Uber to pick you up - you need it as soon as possible, so you open the Uber app and with just a few taps on the screen, a car is on its way to you. It’s highly likely that you won’t have time to look at how the icons are designed in the Uber app, or how bright the colors are - when you use a mobile app, the focus is not on aesthetic and design, but on usability and speed. When you open a banking app to make a payment at the grocery store, you don’t waste time admiring the look of the app; you make the payment and you’re out, quick and easy.
A sense of urgency
The focus for designers when it comes to mobile apps is usability and intuitiveness. You have to design a simple, intuitive, seamless and fast user flow that allows someone to complete a task with as few taps on the screen as possible. Any extra step in the process will require a user to ‘jump’ from screen to screen on mobile to get to the end point. The more ‘jumps’ a user has to make, the more frustrated they will become, so the key is simplicity. On the desktop, things are quite different.
When designing web-based applications, you can allow users to do multiple things and complete tasks and processes without ever leaving the homepage. You can use popups and forms that don’t send the user to a new page, and that will make them more likely to stay on the page, as they don’t have to keep going back to return to the starting point. You have a lot more space to work with, so that’s something that you can do, whereas on mobile, even a simple popup would take half or more of the smartphone screen.
Information architecture
Another key point is to understand why people use desktops nowadays. It’s primarily for more time-consuming tasks that don’t require immediate action or completion of a task. People use desktops and web applications for research, to access information, and they have a lot more time to take in the look and feel of a product or service. Here, content, website architecture and information hierarchy become key points of focus.
Designers have to make the best of content strategy, fonts, colors, information structure, typography, and visual appeal to keep desktop users engaged. Of course, page loading speed and usability are still important, but the actual design part will also become a top priority. In this case, a designer becomes more of a ‘digital architect’ rather than just a UX or UI specialist, as they have a lot more moving parts to work with.
Why mobile will always be the top priority
It’s true that mobile-first is the way to go for any new digital product coming to the market, because that is where users spend most of their time. Even if you build the most amazing and innovative web platform, chances are that, unless you also optimize for mobile, users won’t find it and explore it to its full potential. Think about it: where do you first learn about a new digital product or service? It’s probably on social media, as you’re scrolling while commuting or waiting in line at the grocery store or the car wash. If you’re not on social media, you might as well not exist nowadays, and if you’re not optimized for mobile, you won’t be able to attract users.
As remote work and digital mobility become the norm, we don’t rely on desktops and laptops as much as we used to. Why would we, since there’s basically a mobile app on our phone for pretty much everything? Still, bigger companies and corporations invest heavily in web-based products, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. But even these large corporations are seeing the value of a strong mobile presence, and so they’re starting to take a cross-platform approach, so to speak.
More often than not, a company already has a web presence, and they need to develop a mobile app, as well, to reach a wider audience and keep growing their business. In this case, the mobile and web apps should be able to do the same things, and provide the same services, at the same quality level. However, as we’ve already seen, the two mediums serve different purposes, and they should be designed accordingly.
“If you have a web app and your business requires you to build a corresponding mobile application, don’t expect the two to look alike, but ask a designer experienced in building mobile apps to make an adaptation that makes sense for your customers.” - George Purusniuc, X2 Mobile CEO
Whether you already have a web application and are looking to reach a wider audience by creating a mobile app, as well, or you just have an awesome product idea and don’t know where to start, feel free to contact us and ask us any questions you might have. We’re always looking to work on challenging projects, and can’t wait to help you make your product idea a reality.