8 Web Design Challenges to Tackle When Designing for the Mobile Web Site

The top 8 design challenges to tackle when designing for the mobile Web . Many of these challenges should also be taken into consideration when designing mobile apps as well.

1. Lack of a hover state

The ability to hover mouse over an image, icon or text to see reference information or options, is absent. On mobile platforms and devices, features can generally be accessed in two ways, visibly or through convention. Visible content is accessible visually from navigation elements that are built into the design or application . Convention features utilize mobile design conventions or gestures such as swiping, shaking or pull to refresh/reload.

2. Slow and error-prone typing

Typing on a touch keyboard is often a slow and error prone experience no matter what size your fingers are. Helping the users with features like auto complete functionality, inline & address validation and allowing users to review pages before submission can help with this issue.

3. Reduced context

Smaller screens limit the amount of information that can help keep a user on track especially those who need to zoom in to view content in a readable state.

4. Decreased accuracy of clicking links and button

Small size problem and proximity of clickable (or touchable) elements, control buttons, and navigation bars are severe, especially with the lack of a hover state challenge.

5. No right-click

As the right click menu acts as a context based shortcut for common features, most mobile devices lack this option. In some brands, try using a ‘tab-and-hold’ gesture instead.

6. Poor connectivity

Mobile devices are usually associated with the intermittent connectivity issues and the slow download speed. It’s really a two pronged issue:

• No connection: While users probably won’t expect offline mode from the website provider, at least there must be a way to handle lost connections gracefully

• Slow download speeds: If Web content  should be usable on slower connections, then it is highly desirable to make footprint as small as possible by implementing aggressive asset caching, Using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS3), etc.

7. Slow hardware

While the performance of touch devices is improving rapidly, still are slow when compared with desktop computers. Issues left for web designers of slow hardware include transitions effects and animations.

8. Usage situation

Due to the fact that the unique feature of mobile devices is mobility, there must be a consideration of the impact of real world distractions, a speaker announcement, walking in traffic, etc. Another and possibly important sources of distractions are the digital interruptions text messages, phone calls, push notifications, etc.

The mobile browsers are associated with the same limitations like the mobile Web, such as:

• Small screen size: This makes it difficult or impossible to see text and graphics available on the standard size of a desktop computer screen,

• Lack of windows: Ability to open several windows simultaneously and switch easily

• Navigation: No mouse, thereby limiting the flexibility in navigation

• Lack of JavaScript and cookies: Most mobile devices do not support client-side scripting  and storage of cookies except some smart phones and iPhones, which is not suitable for uniquely identifying visitors using mobile devices

• Speed: Most mobile devices speed of service is very slow, often slower than dial-up Internet access

• Types of pages content like (Flash, PDF …)

• Compressed pages

• Size of messages: Many mobile devices have limitation on the number of characters that can be sent in an email message

• Cost: Access and bandwidth charges levied by cell phone networks are much higher than those for fixed-line Internet access.

Currently, vendors of mobile devices attempt to solve most of the previous problems thought developing some strategies like increasing the screen size, enhancing the hard resources (CPU & memory), developing new Operating Systems (OS), improving the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network, or adding network cards to provide the wireless access thought the Wi-Fi technology.

OneHoster is one of the best web hosting companies in Egypt, we offer many web hosting packages in Egypt and middle east like, cPanel storage hosting packages, cloud hosting, domain registration, dedicated servers solution, Email hosting, WordPress hosting, web hosting upgrades and hosting renewals to suit your requirements to host your website for small and medium sized businesses. OneHoster is also one of the top 10 website design companies, and top 10 digital marketing companies in Egypt and Middle east.

“OneHoster’s Team”