Keep It Simple And Intuitive

Given the small screen size of most handheld devices, overfilling the screen with graphics, links, buttons, and icons makes them very difficult to read, especially when on the move. The main information should be clearly visible, easy to find, and quick to navigate. Try walking down the street or around the office while using your site and see if you can easily access the information you require.

Keep the branding and layout of your mobile site logically consistent to that of your PC site, if you have one. Not to say that they should be identical, but if the menus are ordered similarly, and display the same wording, users will recognize the site and intuitively navigate to the information they want.

Don’t force users to fill in lengthy registration forms, especially those with keypads. If users do need to enter information, keep the fields short and automatically set the input type to alphabetic or numeric, depending on what the form field requires. Using select options and tick boxes rather than free text fields in forms will also aid the mobile user.

Make It Personal

Personalization and site-level bookmarks are another way to ensure the right information is on screen one. If users can personalize their experience and tune it for their specific needs, they are more likely to return to “their site.”

If you can include automatic suggestions or recommendations based on user behavior, then even better. Entice users to spend more time on the site by offering them personalized special offers or by showing their most viewed items on screen one. Always ensure that the content is relevant to users and the device they are using.

Cater To Each Device’s Capabilities

One of the most frustrating issues for mobile users, especially when downloading applications, games, music, and video, is to have gone through the discovery and purchase process only to find that it doesn’t work on their device.

When offering downloadable content, or content that requires certain device capabilities, make sure that it is only offered to devices that support it. Similarly, with location, messaging, and click-to-call features, adapt the user experience to what the device can actually do.

Using a development tool that includes a database of device profiles allows the technology to automatically hide or offer alternatives for devices with differing capabilities.

Adapt For Each Device

With thousands of different devices, each with varying degrees of markup, CSS, JavaScript, and AJAX support, making sure the page simply renders correctly on each device is complex. Some require specific tags in the page, while others only support a subset of CSS. Selecting an adaptation platform that can automatically handle all these workarounds and limitations is critical to ensuring that all users receive the best experience of your site, on whatever device they choose to use today, as well as in the future.

Your Next Step

The mobile Web is here now. Consumers are using it. And it’s growing. This rapidly growing one-to-one sales and marketing opportunity will have a significant impact on many organizations over the next few years, as mobile usage reaches critical mass.

Developing the skills to use the available tools and design approaches, sooner rather later, will allow you to embrace mobile and take an active step in meeting the needs of your customers on the move, while ensuring that mobile becomes a successful channel for your business.

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David Roberts is the business development and product marketing manager for Volantis Systems. Since joining Volantis in 2001, he has worked extensively with multiple mobile operators around the globe on the strategy, design, and delivery of mobile Internet solutions. He can be reached at droberts@volantis.com.