Designing for the mobile web Jan 8th '10

Even as few as 5 years ago, designing websites, which are viewable on mobile phones, was reserved for specialist websites and applications. Nowadays designing a mobile version of your site, or at least a site which looks good on desktops and mobile, is a necessity.

A brief history of designing for the mobile

In 1998 WAP was launched. WAP was a model which allowed mobiles to access the Internet as we do today. Upon launch it was heavily hyped as having similar Internet speeds to that of desktop computers. Of course, this was incorrect, WAP in its native form was slow and expensive. This was made even worse for designers as mobile websites had to be created in something called WML. Having to use a second language to create websites meant added an extra overheads and headaches for designers and developers. This resulted in WAP sites generally being outdated and lacked many features of the original website.

As mobiles developed, it soon became clear that it was possible for mobiles to process websites written in HTML. This meant that well designed websites would look similar on desktops and mobiles.

Mobile websites today

More and more people are viewing websites on their mobile phones. Whether it be buying train tickets, checking email or even checking contact details for a potential supplier. Having a mobile version of your website which is easy to use and navigate positions you above your competitors and gives your potential customers a better user experience.

Ask yourself this: If I wanted to quickly find your contact details from your website on my phone, would I be able to easily?

Checklist of things to keep in mind

Below are a few points which have to be kept in mind when designing for the mobile web:

• Screen sizes can and will vary, so the design must be fluid,
• Users may disable images to save loading times, so ensure you have alternative text,
• Avoid Javascript navigation,
• Pinpoint your target market: are they more likely to have smartphones (iPhone, Blackberry e.t.c) or old style Nokia’s?
• Keep it simple! If your website is complicated, your mobile version doesn’t have to be!

There are of course many other points you need to keep in mind when developing a mobile friendly version of your site (use images sparingly and make the file sizes as small as possible, for instance). Any knowledgeable Web developer will be able to point you in the right direction, or look no further than us here at Centation!.

Written by Oliver Culverhouse

---

Comments so far

Reply to our blog post, why not?

Name
Email (not published)
Your website
Your comment   Submit comment

How can I get in contact with you?

To send us an email complete the form below. If you would like us to become part of your team and develop your next Web application, then please download and complete our project planner sheet on the right and email it to us at hello@centation.com or by completing the form below.

Name
Email address
Telephone number
Project Planner I want to attach my completed Project Planner.
Enquiry
  Send email