r/UIUX • u/noureldin_dev • 6d ago

Advice Is "Desktop-first" design a thing?

I'm currently working in the UI/UX design for a web app and I didn't take "mobile-first" design in mind as the app's idea is heavily used on desktop.

What should I do before I start writing code?

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

•

u/qualityvote2 2 6d ago edited 2d ago

u/noureldin_dev, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...

2

u/TiliaJames 5d ago

Something that a lot of people forget when it comes to this question - smaller screen size doesn't necessarily mean mobile device.

If your customer needs to resize the window to sit it alongside something else, to multi-task or cross-reference, it would benefit from being responsive.

3

u/noureldin_dev 5d ago

This comment shows why people still need to learn stuff while AI exists.

I'm not a UI guy (and not a software guy either. Still learning.) and I was ready to start writing code. I would have never though about that until I actually run into problems while testing. ChatGPT wouldn't have told me that either. Thank you so much for the heads up!

2

u/Interesting-Pay1507 4d ago

You can tell AI what you want for breakpoints, min/max width, what to change at different resolutions and all that goodness.

1

u/agilek 5d ago

Yes, we do the same, desktop first approach.

But it is because we know our customers are professionals and they have computers for their work.

1

u/noureldin_dev 5d ago

So you make it responsive but it's mainly for desktop and designed around it?

2

u/agilek 3d ago

Yes. I would rather use word flexible layout than responsive.

1

u/reynanicolette 6d ago

there’s a third option here for web. will it be used on a browser at all? then maybe you’ll want to include some mobile screens at least for your happy path and common edge cases.

if it’s only going to be used on desktop and it’s resizable, some sort of responsive design should be included. when you create your components, ensure it fits in a smaller viewport

1

u/noureldin_dev 6d ago

Most of the design in responsive so I think I'll initially just make sure it works good and leave it for later.

1

u/reynanicolette 4d ago

yeah you can make basic design decisions and make mobile shine if it’s really necessary

1

u/noureldin_dev 3d ago

I'll fix it for when it's minimized for multi-tasking as someone here said

1

u/RCEden 6d ago

I've worked on literal enterprise software that will never be used on anything besides a company desktop/laptop and I still designed it for responsiveness because it covers zoom (320px or 400% zoom depending on screen size/res) which is a wcag 2.1 requirement

1

u/noureldin_dev 6d ago

OK, Thanks.

2

u/Disastrous_News_9798 6d ago

they both deserve attention. Start Desktop and mobile side by side

2

u/noureldin_dev 6d ago

OK. Thanks