Statistics show that more than 19 million Australians use mobile phones to facilitate their communication. Global communication networks have transformed mobile phones from being basic into smart phones and i-phones cable of offering web based services. Mobile phones use the Global Packet Radio Service or GPRS to establish connectivity. And are Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) enabled devices. At present the connectivity for 2G phones is quite slow, as for example 56/114 kbs, however, more sophisticated phones such as 3G and 4G incorporating advanced IP services plan to bridge this gap. And then more quality content would be browsed through mobile internet.
At present most of the websites do not easily render on mobile devices. Experts feel that it is not sufficient to make the smaller version of the original website to make it readable on mobile devices. Also work needs to be done to ensure each page is specifically reconstructed for this purpose. Accessibility is a major concern and mobile content providers must adhere to accessibility standards as those prescribed by W3C or .mobi guidelines should be followed in all respects so that users are able to access the mobile site irrespective of the mobile phone brand they use.
Another concern worrying the content providers is the need to strip sound and video to minimize the uploading time and save user bandwidth, for which the user is charged. Sound, video and images need to be optimized or razed to hasten the uploading speed. It is thus recommended that images should be either in jpeg or gif formats.
Last but not least Mobile sites need to be simplistic as screen size of mobile devices and PDAs is much smaller compared to those of desktops or laptops. Ergo, the content needs to be adjusted to reflect this like the most important information should be posted right at the top, as connectivity is slow. Also the total page size should be only 20 kilobytes for the site to be viewed correctly by mobile devices. Navigability should be kept very logical so that the user does not need to oscillate back and forth to access key information. He should find his information quickly and easily. Also categories should be kept to a minimum or up to a maximum of 5. Furthermore the user should be able to get his information by clicking lesser buttons. His entire experience should be encouraging and not exasperating.
In terms of Information Architecture the context also has to be kept in mind, while designing mobile websites. It is felt that normally people accessing mosite are younger and they browse the internet not in the luxury of home or office but in cramped trains or equally uncomfortable spot. Moreover they desire very specific information and are not seeking long and detail explanations of their respective queries. They are in a rush but they want very specific resolutions. IAs have to ensure that the mosite they visioning does that favorably without compromising content quality and discounting speed.
Reference: -
Mobile Website Design, AccuraCast SEO Weekly Headlines, viewed 8 March 2009,
<http://www.accuracast.com/seo-weekly/mobile-web.php>
Mobile Website Design, TotalInternet.com.au: Serious about online business, viewed 8 March 2009, <http://www.totalinternet.com.au/website-design/37/Mobile-Website-design/>
Crumlish, C. 2007, Mobile Information Architecture: Designing Experiences for the Mobile Web, IA Summit 2007, viewed 10 March 2009, <http://www.slideshare.net/xian/mobile-information-architecture>
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