By Marcie Quintana

According to the Huffington Post the sales of smart phones has exceeded the sale of personal computers for the first time – ever. This statistic certainly shows us where we are headed, and from a design perspective it is no surprise. Since the inception of the smart phone (specifically the Apple iPhone and the Android), the web design world has increasingly become more and more privy on ways to make the user experience as efficient as possible for mobile devices. As we see the popularity of the tablet rise, this concept will be even more important when designing for the web, as mobile devices are changing the way people use the internet, and moreover, live their lives.

As an Interactive Project Manager there are many things I keep in mind when building a website for our clients, and from the statistic above, you could argue that one of the most important is ensuring that your site is mobile friendly. Being proactive and one step ahead is what we try to achieve, and building a site that is seamlessly translated to your mobile phone is something everyone should be thinking about.

In terms of design, here are some web practices that have increasingly popped up across the net.

PICTORAL ICONS
The way we interact with sites has changed over the last couple of years. For instance many of us now know that a picture of an arrow pointing down will allow us to download a document or picture, or a small blue box with a lowercase ‘f’ in it will take us to Facebook. This is how we can give direction with a limited amount of space (too little space for the entire word or direction). Because the screen on mobile devices is so limited, the use of icons has taken web design by storm.

Here is an example of a project we are working on with icons as the main navigation!



SIMPLICITY
Web design has become increasingly more simplistic for many years now. The main reason is due to a more diverse understanding for better navigation through sites, however the simplistic nature lends itself to a better viewing experience on a mobile phone. Your mobile phone doesn’t have much room to work with, so the real estate you see on the page must be used wisely with no clutter.

Flipboard.com | Web Version


Flipboard.com | Mobile Version


LITTLE TO NO FLASH
Not only does lack of flash help in terms of SEO results because of the quicker load time, but it allows smart phone users to view the site in a better way. Using alternative programming languages such as HTML5 and jQuery, your site can still achieve the sophisticated look of Flash, on your smart phone without the heavy load time. If flash is unavoidable on the site, then a special script can be implemented to your site, so when a user loads it on a smart phone, your site will automatically re-direct to the modified version of your site without flash. There are many great alternatives and ways to make your web presence strong through mobile devices. Here is an example of how we achieved this functionality for ifluencepr.com.




The future of mobile devices and the web look like they will be fully integrated, and that’s the exciting thing about technology! You never know where it will turn next, but you can rest assure that USA Web Solutions will be ahead of the curve. How can we make your site more mobile friendly?