Jan 14 2009
Is Your Website Easily Viewed On A Mobile Device
Is your website easily readable on a mobile device? With more and more people accessing the web with mobile phones and devices, it is becoming increasingly important to provide an option on your website that allows the mobile user to view your content easily.
Let me preface this by saying I am not an expert at mobile accessible websites – this is based on my experience.
There are several ways to this such as duplicating the content of your site in a different layout with a .mobi extension or by using a sub domain with link off your main page. When it comes to the actual site that will be viewed on a mobile device there is one rule that stands above the others: Keep It Very Simple. Stay away from heavy graphics and provide the user with the information they are seeking. There are a variety of screen sizes and resolutions with mobile devices and this can become a challenge when trying to present the same information you have on your three column blog to the mobile viewer.
Several of my websites are directory or “hub” sites which provide a massive amount of information to the viewer and my challenge is to present that information in an easily accessible way. I am able to accomplish this by setting up my mobile site in a single column format with no graphics. I am reminded of outlines I used to do in school where we had major topics, sub topics and then sub sections of those.
The opening page of the mobile site has a text blurb about the information available and how to access it and then links to various topical pages within the site. Each sub-page then has a single column displaying the information for each item. There are times when photos or graphics are necessary but I try to keep them to a minimum. On a side note, be sure to use alt tags on your graphics and photos as some mobile devices do not display graphics.
In the coming weeks I will be converting one of my sites into a mobile accessible site and will post the url to the main site and the mobile site for you to review.
What are your tips and techniques for displaying your websites on mobile devices.
