7 Usability Tips for Mobile Web Sites
Better browsers such those found on the G1 and iphone have contributed to the growth in mobile internet access. What factors should you consider to make your website more usable for users of these mobile devices? When people are using mobile devices to access the web they are more likely to be looking to find information quickly and specifically. You can make their search more fruitful by considering the following points.
1. Screen Size – mobile devices have much smaller screens and so the layout of the site on a computer screen is not usually suitable to display on a small screen. A separate stylesheet can be used to display the content in a different layout. For example:
<link rel="stylesheet" media="handheld" href="smallscreen.css" type="text/css">
This will avoid creating duplicate content.
2. Blotted Code -bandwidth on mobile devices is often much more expensive and slower than a standard broadband connection. In such circumstances, data is money, so remove any unnecessary code such as table layouts. Improving the amount of code to content will also improve the download time on mobile devices.
3. Avoid Flash – many mobile phones are still unable to render Flash. It is bad for search engine optimisation and it is poor on mobile devices especially if it is used for navigation. If possible it should be avoided on mobile websites.
4. Search facilities – give your user a search facility placed prominently on the page so they can find the content they need quickly.
5. Navigation to your most important pages should be displayed in a prominent position on the screen so that scrolling is not necessary.
6. Avoid long URLs and Forms – mobile devices are still not great for typing with. Most web enabled phones still use the traditional numeric texting keyboard. Even devices with querty keyboards are still fiddly to use compared to a normal computer keyboard. Most of the time links will provide the URL locations but if you have ever had to type a long URL into a telephone, you will know how annoying it can be. If you have to fill in a form online on a mobile site avoid collecting unnecessary data for the same reasons.
7. Make selected items clearly visible – mobile phones typically have poor control of the cursor and so it is quite easy to select something which you did not intend to. One way of reducing the chance of doing this is to make sure that selected items stand out.
If you follow these tips, then your mobile website will be more attractive and easier to use. It may even increase the revenue generated from your site.
Sir Pumpkin Longshanks
Programmer, Research and Development
