Optimizing Web Pages for Mobile Devices
January 6, 2011
•IADT Online, Web Design and Development
• 0 Comments
More people are accessing the Internet on their cell phones or SmartPhones than ever before. If you haven't optimized your website for mobile users yet, you are potentially losing a huge audience. Consider the following statistics:
- One mobile browser, Opera Mini, reported a 157% increase in traffic from March 2008 to March 20091
- The most widely used extension for mobile devices, .mobi, was attached to nearly one million new sites in 20082
- A March 2009 Pew Research Center study reported that one-third of Americans have used their cell phone or Smartphone to access the Internet3
- AdMob research showed that 40% of iPhone® or iPod® Touch users access the Internet more on their mobile devices than they do on their own computers4
If your site isn't optimized for the special needs of mobile users, there's a good chance that your pages are displaying improperly and are frustrating your users. Because frustrated users don't stick around very long, you could be losing huge amounts of traffic and potential revenue.
If you're serious about optimizing your site for the mobile Web, see the WC3's Mobile Web Best Practices. To get you started, however, review these tips:
Keep it Simple
Remember that mobile devices generally load Web pages much slower than traditional computers. Because of this, limiting the amount of content on your page will help speed up load times. Also, remember that because mobile screens are extremely small, space is a premium. Keep large pictures to a minimum and rewrite your text to only include essential information. Keep in mind that the simpler your page, the better chance that it will load correctly and quickly on mobile devices.
Consider Creating a Separate Page for Mobile Users
Most of the time, mobile users have vastly different needs than typical Web users. They are often seeking different information, and many standard applications like Adobe Flash may not even work for them. Because of this, it is worth considering creating an entirely new page for mobile users. If you create a separate page, you could redirect mobile users to it automatically using JavaScript, or manually through a link at the top of your page for mobile site.
Take Advantage of the Mobile Web's Strengths
If you're designing for mobile devices, you can do some pretty cool things. For instance, if your site is optimized properly, mobile users browsing from their SmartPhone can call your number simply by clicking on it. This is a huge benefit, and one of the big reasons many users browse the Web on their phone in the first place. Because mobile users are many times looking for quick, current information, it is a good idea to give it to them at the very top of the page. This type of information includes breaking news, specials, weather and scores.
Consider Using a Dynamic Page Design
A dynamic Web page expands or contracts to fit the resolution of the screen that it's displayed on. It is vital that you use this type of design on your Web page instead of static design. Web pages that utilize static design keep the same relative size whether they are displayed on a 22-inch monitor or a tiny Blackberry. A dynamic page will ensure that your mobile users will be getting a site that will look right on their screen.
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1http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2009/04/27/
2http://mtld.mobi/node/1367
3http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/12-Wireless-Internet-Use.aspx
4http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090616005359&newsLang=en