Genre: Opinion/Argumentation

| 11/13/2012 @ 6:04AM | 1,435 views Forget Mobile First, Think Tablet First The shift from traditional computers to mobile devices will definitively be the hottest topic of 2013, and probably the next few years (smartphones and tablets accounts for 70 percent of total devices sold in 2012 ). Not only will it affect users' behaviors and expectations, but it will directly impact your sales. I am aware of not teaching you anything by writing this, but there is still a lot of work to do in order to be ready for this market shift... and a lot of skeptical people to convince. The biggest problem we are facing now is the IT debate regarding native vs. mobile app . And with the rise of alternative devices to Apple's iPhones and iPads, it is getting even more complicated to figure out how to properly reach customers in a mobile context (see Brad Frost's This is the Web ). Lately, there's been a lot of buzz regarding responsive design layouts, which are presented as THE ultimate solution to mobile device fragmentations. We now have a little more REX with responsive design and the fact that the layout is not the problem, the context is: when using a mobile device like smartphones, users are in a mobile context (commuting or waiting in a line). Thus, users' attention level is so low, that it is not realistic to think a shrunken version of your website will match their needs. If content or services are hard to find on a website viewed through a desktop computer, and it is 80% of the time, it will be even harder to find it on a small screen, with a compact navigation system and a lot of distractions. To make a long story short, you need a boarder approach ( Why Launching A Mobile App Is Pointless ). This being said, where can you start this broader approach? Well, it seems the easiest way to comply to alternative devices' constraints is not to target smartphones, but tablets. By targeting tablets instead of smartphones, not only do you provide computer users with a better reading experience, but you lower the adaptation costs. In just a few months, Tablet First has became a major design trend : Information-heavy websites like USA Today , ReadWrite , TheNextWeb and Forbes adopted a lightweight layout to enhance the reading experience for tablet users. Even top e-commerce websites like Amazon , Ebay or Nike now use a lighter layout in order to satisfy booth traditional computers and tablets users. Does this type of layout will fit mobile users' needs? No, definitively no. But adopting a tablet first approach will make it much easier for you to convince your boss to have a broader approach than launching an iPhone app. Once you started to worry about users NOT using a traditional computer, than you are in the good state of mind to rethink the way your content and services have to be restructured in a true mobile context. My final word: Tablet First is not an IT choice, it is a pedagogic process to ease the evolution of mentality and design choices in order to comply to the new post-PC landscape. Post Your Comment Post Your Reply Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out. Comments Personally, I am not convinced by a Tablet First approach. First, Mobile First and Tablet first are very different. Mobile first is about *focus* and *simplification*. If you cannot accomplish what you seek out to do on Mobile, that is because the objectives of your site is not clear enough, having more space is not the solution. Tablet first, as you present it, is about making a website more touch-friendly and more visually appealing. Secondly, having a nicer touch-friendly website that is easier to sell in the organization is great, but if it does not provide tangible benefits, you have failed. I do not feel Tablet first websites really enhance the user experience. For example, I do not read the Next Web as I used to since their redesign and their new design is directly responsible for this. This is also true for the other examples you provide, although ReadWrite is not as bad. I think there are two reasons for this, to make clickable elements bigger, they had to reduce their number. As a result, Forbes, ReadWrite and the NextWeb hid their navigation, reducing discoverability and increasing the number of clicks users have to do to navigate the website. Secondly, the use of fixed elements. They crowd the screen and distract me from what I was trying to do: read the article. At least, in the old layouts, when I read half the article, I had cleared the sidebar elements and could read in peace. By the way, I DO own a tablet, but forcing a tablet optimized solution is not the way to go. I find the articles on a desktop during the day and  Save the for Later  when I read them at home. Now, I don't even bother to look around anymore... Ok, I get your point. But as it is sais in the final sentence: Tablet First is a change management process. If your boss is ready, or your organization has the maturity to jump into mobile first, then do it first! And you do agree on the fact that this are two distinct topics (layout optimization for tablets and focusing on a single task). This generally makes sense. The responsive web design method is certainly the way to go. I think some people often get stuck on the idea of "smart phone, iPad, desktop" versions, but the idea needs be broadened a bit as the market diversifies and we prepare for newer technologies. For example, the iPad mini has its own set of constraints that people are just starting to understand. Most Read on Forbes I have been working in the internet for more than 15 years as a consultant on various missions for french and international firms (Renault, L'Oral, Orange, BNP Paribas...) and I am currently self-employed in Paris, providing consulting, training and speaking engagement all around the world (France, Switzerland, Canada, Romania, Chile...). As a tech evangelist, I write 8 blogs on various topics: innovation, social media, e-commerce, enterprise 2.0, mobile... (take a visit to the oldest one: FredCavazza.net ). You can find me on Twitter and Google+ , but I write in french. If you are looking for my english writings, try to Google "digital identity mapping", "socialmedia landscape", "enterprise 2.0 overview" or "virtual universes landscape". You can contact me on fredcavazza@gmail.com. The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.