Mobile Web Site Design Part 1

Posted by Mary Gammel on December 2, 2008 under Website Quality | Be the First to Comment

The Need for Mobile Web Sites

For mobile internet users, browsing the web can be a hit or miss affair — pages take forever to load, text is too small to read, or sites are impossible to navigate. This is mainly because most web sites are designed for desktop use. While the number of mobile internet users is still low, about 2% of all users, it is growing swiftly. In fact, during one month in 2008, the percentage of users browsing with an iPhone doubled.

So, how do you expand your market and reach the growing number of mobile users without compromising your main web site? The answer is to create a slimmed down mobile web site that provides basic information about your business, products, and services.

Why have a mobile web site?

• To make it easier for mobile users to get information about your business.
• So customers can contact you while they’re on the go.
• To facilitate taking orders over the phone or through a simple web site form.
• To point users to your main web site.

What are the main features of mobile web sites?

• Pages display on small screen sizes
• Text-oriented with minimal graphics
• Simple page layouts
• Minimal or no animation
• Limited or no use of third party plug-ins such as Flash or JavaScript

What basic information should a mobile web site contain?

• Business logo, name, and description
• Brief list of services and/or products
• Contact information – phone, address, email
• Hours of operation
• Optional map to your location
• Pointer to your main web site

In Mobile Web Site Design Part 2, look for ideas on how to design mobile web sites so that they work properly on different devices.

Related Links

Here’s a few mobile web site examples listed along with their main sites. In your desktop browser, open the main site and the mobile site at the same time. Then switch between the sites to see the differences.

Major League Baseball

Main Site: http://www.mlb.com/
Mobile Site: http://wap.mlb.com/

Yahoo!

Main Site: http://www.yahoo.com/
Mobile Site: http://m.yahoo.com/

CNN

Main Site: http://www.cnn.com/
Mobile Site: http://m.cnn.com/

Quick Tip:

See if your current web site is mobile ready. View it on an iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm, or other mobile device. Does the site load quickly? Can you navigate it? Can you see your business description and contact information?

Did you know?

Quality Web Site Testing can evaluate and test web sites on iPhone, Windows Mobile PDA, or on other platforms using device emulators.  Also, if you don’t have a mobile web site yet, we can provide you with a road map for creating one. Please contact us at Quality Web Site Testing for your free consultation and estimate.