Going Mobile? Some How-tos
Going Mobile? Some How-tos
Unless you live under a rock in another planet with no intelligent life, you must be aware by now that Mobile Content is the "next big thing". There's a lot to say about this conception, personally I find it very difficult to understand. While computer and TV screens are going bigger and bigger and then even bigger, mobile content is going a million steps back. Then again, many people, especially younger people mesmerized by "coolness" likes this way of content delivery, and there's money to be made off. So... time for some Mobile issues.
First of all, if your site is well done, you won't need many changes. When I say well done, I mean proper XHTML with both HTML and CSS validating. If you went with a cheap designer that provided some half made product... well, now you have to pay again for a whole new content delivery tour. If your designer used tables... well, whole new tour. If your designer can't make proper CSS (even if validating), well... whole new tour. Take it as a learning, pay twice for the 'cheapo' (hopefully cheap) and continue reading.
Design for Mobile is a whole new different thing. it's easy and simple but it has to be made TO THE "A". Content organization and logical flow is key, and so is CSS. As you may imagine, there are not much options with mobile design since its screen doesn't allow it. However, you can be as complex as you want. And.... fail. Mobile design is about simplicity, in essence it's like 94/95's design, only that without the tables.
Once you have a logical structure (you can draw it on paper or make a graph flow for visual help), you can apply the CSS. Personally, I'd use 3 or 4 style sheets and offer them as options. Since my html has to be PERFECT and I'll use DIVs, I can change everything in a snap via CSS, hence your mobile customers will be able to choose whatever they like.
An idea for organization would be something like this:
the size of this screen is the one you should aim for since it's the most common: 240x320. However, you can serve different style sheets and detect screen sizes or be smart and use liquid layouts. The choice is yours.
As you may see, this very basic design uses logical semantyc XHTML. It's simple and to the point, yet it uses some content display that allows you to maximize content delivery using as little space as possible
Another thing to note: Don't rely on fonts! NEVER! Most mobile devices won't include any of the fonts you usually will rely on, like Times, Verdana and such. The user has to install them.
For devices using Windows Mobile, it's a great idea to offer the fonts you want to display in your site so the user can download them.
Obviously, you can use something as Facelift, Flir, AnyFont, whatever, but it's always a nice idea to deliver the regular fonts for your site as well.
So now we need to display content.
In adult business, you'll want to display photos and videos rather than text. How to do it AND DO IT WELL is a very tricky question. Personally, I'd use any kind of tool based on JQuery or Prototype to build AJAX apps, but you can do it with php or simply with HTML. The better you do that, the better you'll do with your mobile site. As a tip, think about this: most people doesn't have an Iphone, yet everybody loves it. So... why not serve your site emulating Iphone? It's relatively easy for someone that knows what is he/she doing, and your members will love the slick modern design
Finally, something so basic that it's borderline ridiculous yet many people doesn't do: add a bookmark link.
Of course there's a lot more to mobile content delivery, but for now, I hope this helps to any one willing to enter this competitive market
Unless you live under a rock in another planet with no intelligent life, you must be aware by now that Mobile Content is the "next big thing". There's a lot to say about this conception, personally I find it very difficult to understand. While computer and TV screens are going bigger and bigger and then even bigger, mobile content is going a million steps back. Then again, many people, especially younger people mesmerized by "coolness" likes this way of content delivery, and there's money to be made off. So... time for some Mobile issues.
First of all, if your site is well done, you won't need many changes. When I say well done, I mean proper XHTML with both HTML and CSS validating. If you went with a cheap designer that provided some half made product... well, now you have to pay again for a whole new content delivery tour. If your designer used tables... well, whole new tour. If your designer can't make proper CSS (even if validating), well... whole new tour. Take it as a learning, pay twice for the 'cheapo' (hopefully cheap) and continue reading.
Design for Mobile is a whole new different thing. it's easy and simple but it has to be made TO THE "A". Content organization and logical flow is key, and so is CSS. As you may imagine, there are not much options with mobile design since its screen doesn't allow it. However, you can be as complex as you want. And.... fail. Mobile design is about simplicity, in essence it's like 94/95's design, only that without the tables.
Once you have a logical structure (you can draw it on paper or make a graph flow for visual help), you can apply the CSS. Personally, I'd use 3 or 4 style sheets and offer them as options. Since my html has to be PERFECT and I'll use DIVs, I can change everything in a snap via CSS, hence your mobile customers will be able to choose whatever they like.
An idea for organization would be something like this:
the size of this screen is the one you should aim for since it's the most common: 240x320. However, you can serve different style sheets and detect screen sizes or be smart and use liquid layouts. The choice is yours.
As you may see, this very basic design uses logical semantyc XHTML. It's simple and to the point, yet it uses some content display that allows you to maximize content delivery using as little space as possible
Another thing to note: Don't rely on fonts! NEVER! Most mobile devices won't include any of the fonts you usually will rely on, like Times, Verdana and such. The user has to install them.
For devices using Windows Mobile, it's a great idea to offer the fonts you want to display in your site so the user can download them.
Obviously, you can use something as Facelift, Flir, AnyFont, whatever, but it's always a nice idea to deliver the regular fonts for your site as well.
So now we need to display content.
In adult business, you'll want to display photos and videos rather than text. How to do it AND DO IT WELL is a very tricky question. Personally, I'd use any kind of tool based on JQuery or Prototype to build AJAX apps, but you can do it with php or simply with HTML. The better you do that, the better you'll do with your mobile site. As a tip, think about this: most people doesn't have an Iphone, yet everybody loves it. So... why not serve your site emulating Iphone? It's relatively easy for someone that knows what is he/she doing, and your members will love the slick modern design
Finally, something so basic that it's borderline ridiculous yet many people doesn't do: add a bookmark link.
Of course there's a lot more to mobile content delivery, but for now, I hope this helps to any one willing to enter this competitive market
AIM: GrouchyGfy
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