Taking your site to the mobile Web
by Katharina Scholtz
The mobile Web is much discussed and a point of contact you should be taking advantage of. Below are some basic points you should consider when looking at how your site will display on the mobile Web.
Mobile phones have small screens and limited memory
Your site will not display the same way it does on a computer screen. To keep it as simple and usable as possible, design with single table layout, and use only the essential images and animation.
Ensure that your site is easy to navigate
Given the restrictions on mobile controls (there’s no mouse!) limit scrolling to only one direction if you can. Write your links clearly and simply, and don’t include too many per page. To avoid excessive amounts of links, think carefully about how you structure links from one page to another, using them to facilitate navigation.
Think about the types of people visiting you site
Will people browsing from their mobile phones be goal oriented, looking for amusement, or returning often for updates of some kind? Thinking in these terms should help you set up paths of navigation.
Do not use pop up windows
Pop up windows are irritating on computers as it is. On a small screen they’re potentially devastating and you should avoid them.
Test for various screen sizes
There are many different kinds of screens out there. You should not only design with this in mind, but test your site in as many different mobile phones as possible as well. While some are quite advanced, many phones are still only capable of the most basic display.
These points should act as a starting point for taking a look at your site. Whether your solution would be to build a separate site for mobile or adjust your own, you need to get involved in this space. If you’re looking for more technical advice, some great posts have already been written. Have look at Make your site mobile friendly by Virginia DeBolt and Make your site mobile friendly in two minutes by Mike Davidson.
Comments
post a commentI just read about a site called WireNode, www.WireNode.com, where you can apparently build a mobile site in minutes. Perhaps worth having a look at...
Posted by Kat on 2008/05/27
Interesting post. I recently blogged about an@lytics and mobile search, which was inspired by 2 clients that recently launched mobile sites.
There are 2 ways of reaching the mobile search market:
Design a mobile version of your website as you mentioned above.
Apply CSS for mobile to your current site. (web accessibilty)
Really depends on the clients market and if their target market make or would make use of mobile search. And we all know how many restrictions there are on mobile browsing, JavaScript,Page load times, etc etc (would you really browse the net on your old Nokia 3100? lol)
UK and US tend to use their mobiles more than folks do down here in SA, so it's still a growing market. So do we look at mobile search from a point of creating a demand for it? or do we follow when the demand is already there?
Posted by Brett on 2008/05/29
Good question! Interestingly enough Allan Kent spoke at a Quirk event yesterday and pointed out that there are 4 million Internet users in South Africa, but 42 million mobile subscriptions.
What number of these connect via their phones is tough to pin down, but I think we might only realise the existing demand for mobile when we start offering more mobile facilities. (There are apparently 9 million log ins on MXit everyday, so the potential is massive).
You're right in pointing out that it very much depends on what capabilities most phones have though :)
In my opinion we don't have to create a demand, but I'd be curious to hear other opinions...
Posted by Kat on 2008/05/29
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thanks for article
Posted by plazma kesme makinası on 2008/05/27