A lot of us design websites looking at a big screen, and we want it to be so beautiful on the screen we’re designing them on. The problem is that 80% — if not more — of our traffic is actually viewing and using our website on their mobile device, which has a much smaller screen.

Design the website on the mobile size screen first, and make sure it's fully functional and attractive on mobile. Do this before you ever cross-check your website on desktop.

As you're designing your website, continuously check it on mobile and then on desktop, not the other way around, which is what most people do. You need to start with mobile because that's where people are going to be experiencing your brand most frequently.

At the end of the day, you need to have a pinpoint perfect website on mobile-sized screens.

Content that’s too long-winded or not properly formatted is bad enough on desktop, but on mobile, it can easily end up looking like a wall of text.

Limit your headlines to one or two lines, max. Keep in mind that shorter is better, so if your headline wraps to two lines on mobile, shorten it if you can. Also, limit your paragraph content to three to four lines on a mobile device.

People often get wordy and feel the need to over-explain. But online, people are looking for punchy, simple content that gets right to the point. Keep it very short and brief, highlight the key point and move on. Don't over-elaborate.

Content that looks fine on a desktop computer can easily look like a tidal wave of text on a smartphone. That’s why you should always preview any changes you make to your website on a mobile device.

Make sure that you have healthy margins between all of your rows of content. People on mobile-sized screens like to have a place to put their thumb while they scroll through your website with their fingers.

Mobile users need room to breathe. Don't stack your content too closely. Leave a lot of open space. You want it to be clean and breathable so that people can consume your information without being inundated by the next point.

This is critical on mobile because it keeps everything on the screen short, sweet, simple and to the point.

Make sure you have large buttons that are easy to identify with a clear call to action. Make buttons stand out by using a bright color, or at the very least, a different color on your site.

Buttons should be clickable and accessible to someone on a mobile device. Pinpoint clicking is hard to do on mobile since most mobile users are using their thumbs. Leave plenty of space around buttons to make them easier to use for people on mobile.