Introduction

This chapter covers the design of an effective mobile web presence so that the interaction will be friendly for users.

Every organization is different and has different sets of clients. For the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) the dominant vendor was Apple's iOS (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch), with a 34% market share. This was followed by Nokia with 28% and Samsung and Blackberry with 10% each. HTC accounted for 7%, while LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and many more combined to form the final 11%. iOS as a platform is an attractive target for which to develop, given the relative homogeneity of the platform. Nokia is also large enough to merit attention, but further accounts for a wide range of device capabilities. With over 310 different mobile devices, the amount of testing and development for each one becomes a cost factor that must be considered. It is important to survey clients to find out what devices they are using and ensure that the dominant platform is supported.

Initial design

Before building a mobile web presence a few design considerations need to be taken into account. These considerations are specific to the limitations of mobile devices and the particular problems that are encountered on this platform.

Simple

Many mobile devices have a limited amount power. In some cases com - plex designs may take extra time to load and render, and on some simpler devices that aren't smartphones it may not be possible to display them at all. Additionally, when navigating through a website sometimes the only navigation tool the device supports is a thumbstick that allows users to navigate slowly around the page. The Nokia N series is an example of devices that rely upon a thumbstick for page navigation. Users of this platform will be alienated and frustrated by complicated designs.

A reasonable strategy for keeping the design simple is to ensure that a minimal amount of data is being sent to the client. End-users may be accessing mobile services from cellular data networks that not only are slow but also can have high associated data fees. Complicated designs with lots of graphics can slow down the transfer of the page and also increase the cost to the user of visiting the service.