Welcome to Design Guide
Hawaii Web Design Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
Designing a mobile compatible website
from: Jon St. George - Designs-By-Jon.comWith the advent of technology like EDGE, GPRS and other more advanced web mobile browsers, users are increasingly surfing on their mobile phones, PDAs and other smaller devices which are easy to carry and can be used on-the-run. When you are designing your website you must keep this increasing set of people/visitors in mind.
Is it that easy though?
Since there are so many manufacturers of mobile devices, and every one of them manufactures so many different types of models with the internet browsing ability. Sadly, there is not much consistency among mobile web browsers. So it’s difficult for a website to work on all the various mobile phones/PDAs etc because of the different technology they use and the only way to check whether your website will work on these devices is to actually try and test running the website from these devices. However, with so many types of devices out there, that’s something that you can never do. Add to this that so many devices are introduced every few months.
In such a scenario what you can do is to make your site suitable/viewable for as many mobile browser platforms as possible. You cannot and should not try to design the website for a particular make/model. Some of the basic requirements would be:
A. Your website should be able to work without images
Many mobile browsers cannot display images- your site will not be able to work if it uses images to display vital information or to make a form work. You should test your web-site without images to check whether everything still works. If you’re using images on a form, you may consider replacing them with Javascript to insert images – as most mobile devices don’t support Javascript, this method should not create any problems for them.
B. Use less bandwidth
Most of the internet enabled mobile devices are access the web at very low speeds – making your webpage’s loading time critical to them. Without images, the loading time does reduce drastically but it still has to load the webpage’s source code before the browser can display it. Here, make sure that your source code is as compact as possible, not repeating itself or using long-drawn-out methods of doing simple things.
To do this, having a working knowledge of HTML can be handy. If you have written the code yourself it should not be much of a trouble then, but if you’ve used a WYSIWYG editor then you should try running the code through HTML Tidy, to see if you can reduce its size.
C. Be careful about Screen Width.
Mobile devices have a much smaller screen width than your computer monitor and so it’s very important to make sure that your website (without images) will work on very small screens. Avoid using tables as they will never work well on the mobile screen. Better compatibility with mobile devices is yet another reason to switch your site over to valid XHTML and CSS, instead of relying on old table hacks for layout.
Benefits of a mobile-website
If your website can work on most mobile devices successfully (which it will if all the above 3 guidelines are followed), then your website will be rewarded. There are not many websites which can be easily accessed through the mobile device and if your website makes it to the list chances are that users will remain loyal to it even when surfing on the computer, thus helping you get a whole lot of new audience. Also, mobile shopping is still quite raw, and there are people trying it out for the first time and starting to build loyalty – you will get long-term customers if you have the first mover advantage. People are also likely to pay for smaller downloads, since they can pay quickly and easily using their mobile phone instead of a credit card.
Even if your website is not selling any product, a mobile website can still be good promotion. Mobile users are likely to use your website to try to get your contact information, or directions to where you are. Anyone who’s taking the time, trouble and expense to look up your site on their phone is likely to be a loyal customer, and you want to make things easy for them.
Hawaii Web Design News
Hawaii Web Design and SEO Company, E.B.B. Interactive, Targets HVAC, Real ... - Virtual-Strategy Magazine
Hawaii Web Design and SEO Company, E.B.B. Interactive, Targets HVAC, Real ... Virtual-Strategy Magazine Hawaii Web Design and SEO company, EBB Interactive, is focusing on expanding their impact in the HVAC, Real Estate, and Veterinary markets. Hawaii web design and SEO company, EBB Interactive, is focusing on the HVAC, real estate, and veterinary markets ... |
Maui design companies net awards - Maui News
Maui design companies net awards Maui News HONOLULU - Two Maui design companies took home awards from the 2012 American Advertising Federation Hawaii Pele Awards held recently on Oahu. Sae Design of Wailuku took home seven awards, including three golds, three silvers and one bronze for its ... |
Viloria looks to long reign as world flyweight champ - Malaya
Viloria looks to long reign as world flyweight champ Malaya By A Web design Company BRIAN Viloria claims he has found his ideal fighting weight and is looking at a possible long reign as world flyweight champion. “I'm comfortable with my weight right now. I could easily make weight,” Viloria stressed in a ... |
Adaptivity Pro Launches a New Website Design Company Directory - Virtual-Strategy Magazine
Adaptivity Pro Launches a New Website Design Company Directory Virtual-Strategy Magazine Adaptivity Pro and Kal'el Technology has launched MyWebDesignFirms, a website design directory that allows access to over 2000 web design companies across the country. MyWebDesignFirms aims to be the go-to resource for businesses and individuals ... |
Become a Writer for BroadwayWorld -- Right Here in Hawaii! - Broadway World
Become a Writer for BroadwayWorld -- Right Here in Hawaii! Broadway World As our local correspondent for Hawaii, you will have the opportunity to review the shows of your choice, conduct interviews with local and touring talent, design feature articles of your own choosing for publishing, and work/network with your local ... |
DOD Makes Multi-System Supercomputing Acquisition Totaling Four Petaflops - HPCwire
DOD Makes Multi-System Supercomputing Acquisition Totaling Four Petaflops HPCwire The AFRL DSRC at Maui, Hawaii, the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC), will receive a 1350 IBM iDataPlex HPC system. The requirements associated with this supercomputer were aligned with the MHPCC's Energy-Efficient Computing (E2C) ... |
Welcome to hemp house? - Santa Maria Sun
Welcome to hemp house? Santa Maria Sun ... Hawaii, Idaho, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. If approved, Knapp's Castle would be the site of the first home made of hemp products in California. Hemp Technology's website describes the planned guest house as an “Aspen Cabin” design—600 square ... |