Mobile Internet – Driving Change To Site Design Usability?
Anything you need to find out, do and see – on demand, on the move, on your mobile, NOW! As smartphone apps take targeted search to a new level of bringing the dream ever closer, 2010 looks like the year when your business may need to step up a gear and get your website accessibility ready for hyper drive site search!
If it’s true that the future is literally in your hands, then the mobile smartphone is set to become the doorway to the human/web interface! If your company specialises in online retail and eCommerce, and your marketing strategies integrate social media networking, then you may already be seeing the growing demand for mobile access to your website, and products and services to be made available to people who are on the move.
The landscape is changing and online marketing is spreading out across all platforms and channels. If the age of the deskbound PC is being increasingly challenged by the portable access devices of iPhone and very soon the iPad, then it may be time to seriously think beyond the planned website refresh, and consider reshaping your site design to include mobile usability.
Here’s a few pointers you might want to ask about with your web design and developer team:
Real Purpose … key to keeping credible brand identity is ensuring that your mobile platform will serve a purpose! Remember – you have a two way relationship channel with your niche market customer, so you need to conduct a survey to see if they would find website access via mobile a phone real advantage, especially if you can provide a specific service that would be useful to their regular requirements.
Currently, many mobile website equivalents to traditional websites disappoint because they actually eliminate the services that users would use most!
UsabilityTesting … to ensure the site is as approachable as possible, it is essential to keep testing and listening to customer feedback. Knowing what mobile users want from a mobile website is critical to usability success.
Keep It Simple … your site should use the most up-to-date software available, employing access keys wherever possible to make link navigation easier. It is essential to ensure that hyperlinks are limited on every page to no more than ten, prioritising and laying the links out in a simple and accessible way.
More Is Less … current slow internet connection speeds and a limited bandwidth allowance (even 3G connections) mean that mobile websites with many pictures will make surfers on the move impatient! Going online on a mobile is always because there is a defined purpose and your users will want to access information they need as fast and painlessly as possible!
Spread The Text … sometimes, inputting text into a mobile phone can be challenging on a limited display screen size, with the smallest and the simplest of domains likely to get more hits than those that are heavily text laden. Best practice is to spread out your content over a variety of smaller screens. This will encourage reading onto the next text screen, essential for keeping users captive.
Animate Out … designing a mobile website as if designing for a normal website is not going to work! Especially, if using Flash and video content. Even the iPhone has yet to perfect the handling of Flash content properly, so beware using animations on your mobile website!
Finally … your aim is always to supply the friendliest service that you can to your customers and constant research, testing and calling for feedback is critical to developing mobile web viability.
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