50% of Views Are Mobile
Over half your visitors are probably on their phones right now. If you've only designed for desktop, your beautiful layout likely looks terrible on mobile — and mobile users won't give you a second chance.
Source: Portfolio analytics data from 1000+ designer portfolios showing mobile usage patterns
Mobile Reality Check
50% of portfolio traffic
Comes from mobile devices, especially for quick portfolio checks
3-second attention span
Mobile users bounce faster than desktop users
Hiring managers check on-the-go
Quick portfolio reviews between meetings, during commutes
Slower connections
Mobile data is slower and more expensive
Design Mobile First
Start with mobile constraints. If your portfolio works on a 375px iPhone screen, scaling up to desktop is easy. The reverse? Much harder.
Mobile-First Process
1. Start with 375px width
iPhone size. Forces you to prioritize what actually matters.
2. Single column layout
Stack everything vertically. Complex grids are mobile killers.
3. Essential content only
Name, best work, contact. Everything else is secondary.
4. Progressive enhancement
Add complexity as screen size increases.
Content Hierarchy for Mobile
Your name and what you do
Above the fold, readable without zooming
Your best project
Hero project that shows your skills immediately
Contact/hire me button
Clear call-to-action, easy to tap
Other projects
Secondary content, can be below the fold
Make It Tappable
Tiny tap targets are a quick way to lose mobile visitors. If buttons are hard to hit with a thumb, people just leave.
Touch Target Rules
✅ Do This
- • 44px minimum for all touch targets
- • 8px minimum spacing between targets
- • Larger targets for primary actions
- • Visual feedback on tap (hover states)
- • Easy-to-reach placement for common actions
❌ Avoid This
- • Tiny text links (under 44px)
- • Crowded button clusters
- • Important actions in hard-to-reach corners
- • No visual feedback on touch
- • Hover-only interactions
Thumb-Friendly Zones
Easy to reach
- • Bottom of screen (navigation)
- • Middle-right for right thumbs
- • Center area for both thumbs
Hard to reach
- • Top corners of screen
- • Far left edge
- • Extreme top of screen
Put your most important actions in the thumb-friendly zone. Save the hard-to-reach areas for secondary content.
What Goes Where
Mobile screens are tiny. Every pixel counts. If something doesn't help you get hired, it shouldn't be taking up prime real estate.
Above the fold (essential)
Name, role, hero project preview, contact button. People decide in 3 seconds.
Second screen (important)
2-3 additional projects, brief about section, key skills or awards.
Below (nice-to-have)
Detailed process, testimonials, full project gallery, blog posts, contact form.
Speed Matters More
Mobile connections are slower and more expensive. If your portfolio takes 5 seconds to load, people won't wait around to see your amazing work.
Image Optimization
Use WebP format
50% smaller than JPEG, supported everywhere
Responsive images
Serve smaller images to smaller screens
Lazy loading
Load images only when needed
Code Optimization
Minimize JavaScript
Heavy scripts kill mobile performance
Optimize fonts
Limit font variations, use system fonts
Enable compression
Gzip reduces file sizes by 70%
Performance Target
Aim for under 3 seconds load time on 3G. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to test your mobile performance.
Test on Real Devices
Chrome's mobile simulator lies to you. Your portfolio needs testing on real phones, because real devices behave differently.
Testing Checklist
Essential Tests
- • iPhone (iOS Safari)
- • Android phone (Chrome)
- • iPad (tablet view)
- • Different screen sizes
What to Check
- • All buttons are tappable
- • Text is readable without zooming
- • Images load quickly
- • Navigation works smoothly
Mobile Testing Tools
BrowserStack →
Test on real devices without owning them
Google Mobile-Friendly Test →
Quick check for mobile usability issues
Lighthouse Mobile Audit →
Comprehensive mobile performance and usability audit
Your own phone
The most important test - use your portfolio like a hiring manager would
Need Mobile Help?
Drop your portfolio here and we'll check how it works on mobile. Real feedback from actual devices.
Test Mobile ExperienceEverything You Need to Know
Quick answers to help you get started
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Mobile- First
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