How Best To Create A Mobile Version Of A Website?

Probably my clients features asked me to create a version of the website specifically with regard to viewing on mobile/handheld units.

This is certainly an area we have no expertise of.

Brief research highlights an authentic minefield of concerns.

Any thoughts will be much appreciated.

Rich

I hate in order to just give answered like this, but this is actually the most valuable source (Google):

http: //www. search engine. com/searchq=website design with regard to mobile phone& btnG=Search

This also:
http: //www. search engine. com/searchhl=en& q=small screen rendering& btnG=Search& aq=f& oq=& aqi=g-m2

http: //www. search engine. com/searchhl=en& q=small screen web design& btnG=Search& aq=f& oq=& aqi=

You can find too many variants, and the iphone apps is a totally different idea.
From the U. S…. the whole cell phone, smartphone, pda, etc. is a total mess.

Thank you mlseim

There’s some useful details but..

Its interesting that many of the search results have some early 2001, 2004 entries on the first page. This makes me are convinced there is probably an excessive amount uncertainty as to what’s the best method. So persons are just not presenting a frequent method.

I use an iPhone plus its a real pain that you can’t read flash online on a website. I think it can be the same for your Blackberry but possibly planning to change.

Android based telephones can or could read flash (Google may it again)

So I do believe I will probably create a minimalist web web site for mobiles. This assumes I’ll find ways to detect who/what is viewing the website.

Rich

As POST said, right now in the U. S., there’s issues with what course it’s going.

A good example of small tv screen rendering is Reddit mobile.
They made a niche site specifically for modest screens. You might want to copy their CSS.
http: //m. flickr. com/

Should you view it over a PC, it looks kind of funny. But should you view it over a cell phone, the idea works.

But it may not be an " app"… therefore for an apple company iphone, it’s just yet another website.
iphone apps are programmed in a special language, labeled Objective-C.
I believe this is a version of C++

All the best . with your excursion.

Thanks mlseim to the reply.

I also found this article that was useful on internet. alistapart. com/

Rich

most on the material is old because of the new phones negate your need for special coming up with. the iphone in addition to android render css all right. tested my internet site on both.

Thank you Dorky

So do you think it is best just to stay the same site and not offer any distinct content for cell users

I realize with my iPhone I am always having to be able to zoom in in addition to out to plot a course and read your content. And of course whenever a flash on the site I just get a gray box!

no i has been just explaining the reason for the old content. i highly suggest taking the chance to make more money for sure. pure html is really the only way to do that because you will never find a reliable detection format, not merely one you can 100% guaranty for your client anyway

just try with regard to moz and ie browser detect and if its not sometimes, offer up this html format

A number of are suggesting discover available screen sizing and render articles accordingly.

I do believe this needs quite a few experimentation – yet it’s time /cost that basically matters to me on this.

Any applying for grants how best to check other than to be able to open recruit several mobile users to provide their honest view

that is dependent upon javascript, lo-tech handsets dont support the item. phones that accomplish, also support css. if that’s the case as long when your layout is definitely fluid its any non-issue anyway. so in cases css and javascript(goo surrender hand) are certainly not supported html is a only solution at any rate. iphone and android are both moz to ensure the moz ie finding i mentioned still holds true.

Thanks Dorky to your reply.

Just found this that is very relevant.

yep, unfortunately the internet writers don, t know that difference between interactive web pages and applications. yet still pretty pertinent.

Firstly, congratulations on creating a client that can be so up with trends they want this. In my experience I’ve must lead clients throwing and screaming into a mobile site, yet maybe that’s only my luck.

It’s a wise decision to have another sub-domain like m. sector. com for a person’s mobile users. That is becoming the common, and it makes it easy for smartphone users to get the site they hope. It also tells them the fact that company cares enough to produce a site for them.

One other way to show the business cares about cell phone users is by making the content upon that site incredibly relevant. You should find out, from users, what they are usually looking for on the webpage. The best strategy to do that should be to survey them. And you may use site metrics for the most used pages as well as the intuition of your client.

But remember that customers are the best people to understand what customers want. Your client should turn the iPhone page into a marketing opportunity, but customers desire to get in and find out, without becoming hassled. Market to them on the full Web.

In addition, remember that a new mobile customer may be looking for a little bit different things over a computer customer. For example, a restaurant site may have their menu page be the most popular on the frequent site. But a cell customer is more prone to want a phone number or driving guidelines. So even if that’s not the #1 pageview power generator, putting it to the mobile site a very good idea.

Should you be going to have a very mobile site, then detecting the actual mobile user as well as redirecting them on the site is a sensible way to show them you have a mobile site. But it really do not lock them from the real site.

I don’t believe you should push the customers to use that site should they don’t want in order to. Mobile sites are usually, by design, additional limited than its full site mum or dad. And that means that if you cannot find what considering on the mobile or portable site, then you require access to the parent. And not having access is usually annoying.

Of course, you should utilize CSS.

Zero, you don’t must use the mass media type. While a few phones still make use of that, most don’t any longer. And most smartphones lately use a genuine browser like Safari or maybe Opera.

So you need to use CSS to design the pages, but it doesn’t ought to be a handheld press type separate CSS report.

Not terribly differently than believe for a massive screen browser. Here are my tips:

• keep the content material light/small – just the thing they want
• link entire sentences/phrases as an alternative to just one concept. It’s a lot harder to engage a one term link than a full sentence with your fat finger.: ichatwink:
• always include a link back to the full site, don’t force them to remain in the mobile or portable version

Good luck!

HTMLJenn thanks to your post and beneficial tips.

Can you give me a few advice on actually establishing a script to be able to detect a mobile and redirect these accordingly

Rich

Well, personally, I don’t love to write these kinds of scripts myself, for the reason that user agents alter so frequently. It’s like looking to drink the ocean. I tend to make use of WURFL http: //wurfl. sourceforge. net/ This utilizes an XML file which is generated by the actual users of WURFL itself to create user agent lab tests for lots and lots of different phones. You can find APIs for Java, PHP, Perl, Dark red, Python,. Net, XSLT, as well as C++.

I am hoping that helps!