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Optimizing Websites For Mobile Devices
Chances are that you are seeing this on a hand-held device such as a mobile phone or an iPad. According to most estimates, by 2013 you will see more mobile devices around you than desktops or laptops. Besides, other devices that are not mainstream web surfing devices such as game consoles, will also benefit from the use of mobile-friendly websites.
 Some hurdles you may run into with mobile website design
- Mobile Website Standards
The standards applicable in mobile website designing have not converged to a comfortable platform. The new CSS3 and HTML5 markup language has enhanced the possibilities of catering to a wider range of devices with improved features. The problem is, this is yet to receive wide spread acceptance or usage.
- Mobile Task Specificity
Users browsing mobile websites are looking for a no-nonsense experience rather than pictures or flash ads. Images and videos are definitely a plus point, but should not get in the way of the primary task. The space real estate is too less for everything to co-exist with harmony. This calls for prioritizing functions.
The mobile website design should be simple with minimum requirement for the user to enter text. Navigation and content should be kept within a simple frame. Better usability translates into more users.
- Mobile Browser Exclusivity
Mobile website design is necessary because most mobile browsers are not compatible with the desktop version of websites. As such the rendering of images and complex style sheets consume time and power. Designers should bear in mind that users are paying for every kilobyte of data downloaded, hence full websites are nothing but mere wastage of money, time and processing power of the mobile device.
- Mobile Power Consumption
Mobile devices have become more powerful with the exponential increase in computing power. However, in many cases the power source, battery, has not been upgraded to support prolonged usage of power consuming activities such as web browsing. Keeping things simple with good mobile website design techniques to save battery life is the way to go.
However, there should be links allowing users to visit the full website if they wish.
All mobile website designs should be thoroughly tested on devices of different screen size and computing power before implementation.
Find out more about Mobile Website Optimization. |
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