Don't make your websites device first, make them device free

Technology keeps changing and so do customers preferences, mental models and behaviour. That's what makes the job of us in Digital challenging and exciting!

As key drivers of Digital in our various organisations, it becomes indispensable for us to embrace this change and understand how the future demands our websites to not be device first (or mobile first) but device free.

The term 'device first' is often referred to as 'mobile first' but I'm inclined to start calling our digital platforms not mobile first but device free. This means no matter which device a customer is using to access our digital assets, such as mobile, tablets, desktops or larger screens, they can be assured to get consistent messaging and functionality simply rearranged in layouts that suit their screen space.

The 'mobile-first' approach can still remain the basis for us to start thinking about our messaging and functionality that a customer requires on the smallest screen space with limited real estate. This will help us remain focussed and deliver to our customers what they really need (minus all the fluff).

It's important that your digital design caters for all interconnected devices to support different screen sizes and interactions.

The bottom line is to that your design strategy must cater for customers on multiple devices.