The Way Ahead - Part 2
It all started with my Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and joining Forum Nokia to find out more about the mobile web.
There are many ways to build a mobile website.
As a developer it offers a fresh set of challenges, albeit harnessing traditional coding skills. Whilst there are recommended standards for mobile website development, there is a temptation to simply port an existing desktop site, content and all. Unfortunately some organizations have chosen that route, to the detriment of good mobile site design, fast download and positive user experience.
Worldwide, there are more digital mobile phones than televisions and PCs combined. According to A.T. Kearney/University of Cambridge, "more than half of mobile handsets are less than a year old and most of them have full Internet capabilities."
Thus it was vital to recognize that the rendering idiosyncrasies of desktop browsers, like Internet Explorer, would be even greater on mobile phones. Different display sizes, browsing software and wireless connectivity all impact the mobile web.
Research
My early researches led me to decide that the best approach for a mobile website, should be back to basics. Site size should be lean, incorporating 6-10 pages in total. Download should be fast, navigation had to be a breeze.
From the management perspective, update should be simple and straightforward. Enter MODx!
Standards & Good Practice
W3C recommend mobile website page size should not exceed 20k including images. Likewise, the maximum image size should be 120 x 120 pixels. These standards together with the excellent testing tool available at mobiReady provided the launchpad for my mobile website development and testing.