Lately several people here at MIT have asked me about mobile websites. With Blackberries, iPhones, and Droids becoming integral to our daily business and personal lives, we, as content providers and technologist, recognize the need to deliver our web content in formats that work with the myriad of mobile devices.
Michael Fienen from .eduGuru’ article “Best of the Mobile Higher Ed Web” not only showcases what they consider to be the “Top 5” mobile sites for higher education (kudos to the MIT Mobile Web team for making the list!) but also gives some best practice tips for this emerging content venue.
- “Having a mobile site isn’t just about making your current site look pretty on mobile phones.”
Mobile users access your website differently on a mobile device, which means usability and accessibility concerns are both different. Designers can’t think about “mouseovers”, the scale of the site has to fit on a tiny screen, and your design and content have to load fast due to connection speeds. The new realm of customer expectation in mobile interaction means new thoughts about how to deliver our content in the easiest manner—a manner much different than our ‘normal’ website. - “Mobile web is about more than the iPhone.”
Although I am an iPhone user, we must remember the range of web-enabled mobile devices that are available. There are too many to plan for all of them, however by targeting the big ones—beyond the iPhone—such as Blackberries, Droid, and Windows Mobile you can create an experience for who you deem as your most prevalent users. Just as regular websites must plan for Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorier, we need to remember that just because you/your office uses iPhones doesn’t mean that your end-users mainly use iPhones—so be inclusive! - “Sites are better than apps.”
This point is similar to point #2, mainly because the apps are generally platform specific. So that means that if you make an app for an iPhone, you’d need to write a separate one for Android-based phones. And don’t forget about your Windows Mobile users! Going with a website is an easier goal to attain and has a lower support need than several different applications. (But, as the article says, if you have the resources—go for both!) And speaking of goals… - “Set goals.”
While a mobile website is a different beast from a normal website, you can’t forget the basic rules of setting goals for your website and your users and establishing metrics against which to test those goals. Then you can measure and improve both the goals and your site—it’s an ongoing process! - “Don’t be afraid to compromise.”
While users are beginning to expect sites to be mobile, creating an effective mobile website is not an easy process. And in these resource-limited times, it’s important to keep your stakeholders informed, educated, and ‘in the loop’. Compromise by creating a low-level mobile site and phase your project and functionality. Create some ‘quick wins’ for your organization and your users, measure, research, and work on progressive enhancement of your mobile site. These initial wins may also help you secure future funding for a really neat mobile site in the long-run! - “Don’t reinvent the wheel.”
Mobile web right now is in its infancy. Remember websites in 1996, how they all kinda looked the same? That’s ok. That’s not to say your mobile web design shouldn’t push the envelope, but balance your need for ‘innovation’ with your users expectations, needs, and habits. You don’t want to frustrate your audience with something that is pretty but doesn’t allow your users to quickly access their needs. - “Measure and adjust.”
This point gets back to your goals. Along with goals you need to have metrics—Key Performance Indicators to measure your goals against. Again, websites are an evolutionary process because audience needs and expectations evolve. This change is particularly important to recognize in the realm of mobile websites that are in their infancy. Think of how much has changed for the web in the past 15 years. The same thing will happen with the mobile web, so keep an eye on those analytics and adjust as necessary!I really liked how this article used existing thoughts and processes and mapped them to the emerging field of mobile web design. The “Top 5” list that they give indicate how drastically different the mobile sites are from the main university sites, yet very similar to each other. These examples provide insight into some great design best-practices and are definitely worth a look!
This edited post was first published on the MIT WebPub blog on May 17, 2010.