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Why Mobile-First Really Means User-First by Michael Hurley

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In 2014, people used mobile devices more often than desktop computers to access the Internet. This is important to you as a dental professional because it will affect the way you communicate with your patients. In order to market your practice effectively, you will have to start reaching out to both your current and prospective patients on their smartphones, tablets and other portable devices.

This shift toward mobile usage is affecting the dental marketplace as it is affecting every other marketplace in the country. It has brought about many new trends to chase, and undoubtedly many of your competitors will be chasing them. However, by understanding exactly how mobile usage is influencing consumer behavior, and adopting a “mobile-first” philosophy for your Web design, you can stay ahead of these trends and keep your practice above the fray.

Understanding the terminology: responsive vs. adaptive vs. mobile-first
Naturally, the shift toward mobile usage has changed how Web professionals approach the design and construction of websites. There are also a lot of new terminologies.

Unfortunately, using Google to look up “responsive,” “adaptive,” and “mobile-first” may only add to your confusion. Here’s a breakdown.
  • Responsive: a Web design that uses fluid grids and flexible media to adapt the layout of a website to any device—regardless of its size—on the fly. The key concept here is fluidity. Whether you view the website on your smartphone, your tablet, your laptop, your desktop, or your flat screen via a gaming console, the website will immediately adjust to provide the same user experience.
  • Adaptive: a design that uses several layouts, each designed to fit a different screen size. When a certain device is detected, the appropriate layout will be delivered. Ideally, the user experience is similar on all devices, even though different layouts are being delivered.
  • Mobile-first: a design that entails developing a basic version of a website that serves the needs of mobile users first, and then broadens the scope of design for larger screen sizes. This approach forces designers to develop a strong foundation that serves the fundamental needs of all users before building higher or drilling deeper.
The best course
So which of these three approaches is best suited to your practice’s website? There are many proponents of both the responsive and adaptive approaches, and many people will try to convince you that you must choose one or the other if you are to compete in the mobile marketplace. However, most of your patients will not be able to detect the difference between responsive and adaptive Web design, nor will choosing one approach over the other necessarily affect your traffic or conversion rate.

Responsive and adaptive websites can still be convoluted in their design and difficult to use; they can still suffer from inadequate content and poor messaging. By contrast, it is more difficult for a mobile-first website to suffer from these flaws.

Furthermore, mobile-first really translates to user-first. The focus isn’t on how to deliver a website—originally designed for a desktop computer—to a mobile device. The focus is on how to deliver the best, most efficient and effective experience to users of mobile devices. Then, as you scale upward, the focus shifts to how to deliver the best, most efficient and effective experience to users of tablets, and of laptops, and so on.

Coincidentally, embracing a mobile-first philosophy provides the user with an experience that is both responsive and adaptive.

Google spells it out for you: mobile-friendly website guide
Of course, the ultimate goal of any Web design is to boost your website traffic and increase conversions. To that end, few goals are more coveted than capturing a spot on page one of Google’s organic search results. The problem, however, is that few targets move quite so quickly or erratically. Trying to keep up with Google’s algorithm changes is a fool’s game, frankly; the search-engine giant is several hundred steps ahead of the many professionals who are working tirelessly to “crack the code” and manipulate its results.

Through the years, Google has tried to demystify its processes by publishing a series of guidelines for webmasters to follow. The most recent of these guidelines specifically concerns how to make your website more mobile-friendly. It includes a mobile-friendly test, which allows you to input the URL of your website and have it analyzed by Google according to its usability on a typical mobile device. Google “Mobile-Friendly Test.” Check out the website guide as well, as it is the single most important resource available. Most of it can be distilled down to a common-sense philosophy: Long-term success comes from focusing on the user experience rather than trying to please the search engines.

Keep your eyes on the prize
In today’s rapidly changing marketplace, it can be easy for a dental professional to lose sight of basic goals. In striving to have the biggest, the best, and the brightest, many of your competitors may respond to the shift toward mobile usage by trying to pack as much visual and written content as they can into as compact a space as possible. Unfortunately, in doing so, many of them will have forgotten about serving the basic needs of their users.

You, on the other hand, will remember that the purpose of your website is to attract new patients and grow your practice. A simple yet elegant, beautifully designed website that puts their needs first, whatever device they happen to be using, will help you to accomplish this.



Michael Hurley is the director of sales and marketing at Einstein Medical, Inc., a leading provider of Internet marketing solutions for cosmetic dentists and other private-pay, health-care providers. Celebrating 20 years of excellence on July 5, Einstein Medical is based in San Diego, California.


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September 2025
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