Note: Updated for 2026. Originally published 2018.

Back in the Google Data Studio era, making a dashboard mobile-friendly often meant a workaround: duplicate the report, squeeze everything into a long skinny page, and hope your phone didn’t hate you.

In 2026, you have better options. Looker Studio supports responsive report layouts and mobile-friendly viewing, which means you can design once and have the layout adapt across desktop, tablet, and phone (with a few practical constraints).

This post shows the quickest way to build a mobile-friendly dashboard that is:

readable on a phone
not a scrolling punishment
designed for decisions, not decoration

TL;DR

If you’re starting fresh: build a responsive report.
If you’re converting an existing dashboard: create a mobile-first page (or section) and keep it brutally simple.
If you’re stuck with an old-style layout: the “skinny page” method still works, but it’s now a fallback.

Step 0: Decide what “mobile-friendly” means

A phone dashboard is not a shrunken desktop dashboard. It’s a different job.

A mobile dashboard should answer:

“Are we on track today?”
“What changed?”
“What should I do next?”

That usually means:

a small set of KPIs
one trend chart
one breakdown table (optional)
clear comparisons (vs yesterday / vs last 7 days / vs goal)

Option A (recommended): Build a Responsive Report

Responsive reports are designed to adapt to screen size using a grid-based layout. You’ll spend less time fiddling and more time making the dashboard usable.

1. Start a responsive report (or convert if available)

Create a new report and select a responsive layout option (or enable responsive layout in report settings if your environment supports it).

Goal: you want a report that rearranges components for smaller screens instead of simply shrinking everything.

2. Design in “sections” (think: stacked blocks)

A reliable pattern for mobile:

Section 1: KPI strip (3–6 scorecards max)
Section 2: Trend (one time series)
Section 3: Drivers (a compact table or bar chart)
Section 4: Notes (small text: “what changed / what to watch”)

Design each section so it can collapse into a single-column stack on mobile.

3. Use grid/snap settings so charts align cleanly

Keep spacing consistent and avoid “freeform” placement. Mobile pain is usually just misalignment plus tiny text.

4. Keep typography and components mobile-safe

Rules of thumb:

avoid dense tables
avoid multi-row legends
avoid huge filter panels
prefer a single date range control (or none, if the dashboard is “today-focused”)

Option B: Add a “Mobile Summary” page to an existing desktop report

If you already have a desktop dashboard you like, don’t try to force it to behave on mobile. Add a new page designed specifically for phones.

1) Duplicate your key charts into a new page

Name it: Mobile Summary.

2) Rebuild the page using a simple vertical flow

Recommended layout:

KPI scorecards (stacked or 2-per-row)
one trend chart
one “top drivers” chart/table
one short annotation text box

3) Set the report display mode to favor smaller screens

Use a display mode like “Fit to width” so the canvas scales to the viewing window (instead of forcing awkward zooming).

Option C (legacy fallback): The “skinny page” workaround

If responsive options aren’t available in your workflow and you need a quick win:

create a new page
set a narrow custom page width (phone-ish)
place components in a single vertical column
keep it to one scrollable page

It works. It’s just less future-proof than responsive layout.

Testing: don’t skip this part

Test in three places:

Desktop browser (narrow window)
Your actual phone browser
The Looker mobile app (if your org uses it)

If a mobile-friendly version exists, the mobile app may prompt you to switch views. Make sure the “mobile” view is the one you’d want a client or exec to see first.

Common mistakes (and quick fixes)

Mistake: Mobile dashboard has the same density as desktop
Fix: Cut 50% of components. Then cut 20% more.

Mistake: Tables are unreadable
Fix: Replace with a short “Top 5” table, larger row height, and fewer columns.

Mistake: Filters eat the whole screen
Fix: Reduce to 1–2 essential controls, or move filters to a separate page.

Mistake: Too many “wins” (green arrows everywhere)
Fix: Add one “sanity metric” (net revenue, refunds, margin proxy) to keep the dashboard honest.

What to put on a phone dashboard (a practical template)

For ecommerce + paid media, a strong mobile summary often includes:

Net revenue (or revenue) today vs yesterday / vs last 7 days
Spend today vs target
ROAS or MER (pick one and define it)
New vs returning revenue split (if you have it)
One trend: revenue and/or spend over time
One driver chart/table: top channels or top campaigns

Final note

Mobile-friendly dashboards are a design problem, not a Looker Studio checkbox. The best mobile dashboards are intentionally limited, fast to interpret, and built around decisions.

If you want, you can treat the Mobile Summary page as your “executive view” and leave the detailed analysis for desktop.

How to Build a Mobile-Friendly Dashboard in Looker Studio (2026 Update)