The web landscape, the advent of mobile phones and tablets, how web design is responding to these developments and why you can't afford to be left behind.

1. Website Owners: Why You Can No
Longer Ignore Mobile Devices
By Nigel Harding
Business Connexions
22 October 2012

2. Context
● Desktop computing &
websites are well established
● Screen resolutions increasing
● HD monitors
● Smart phones – a real
phenomenon
● iPhone, Android phones, Windows phones
● Tablets – predicted to take off
● iPad et al

3. Some Facts & Figures 1
● There are more mobile phones in the UK than people
● The number of smartphone searchers doubles every two
months
● In 2010, Google became a ‘mobile-first’ company (this means
they develop their sites and tools on mobiles first)
● Smartphone sales overtook PC sales last year (two years
earlier than expected)
● In three years time, tablet sales will be bigger than PC sales
● Smartphone sales will continue to grow – will be 3 times the
sales of PCs
● 52% of UK mobile phone users have a smartphone

4. Some Facts & Figures 2
● 28% of internet usage is from a mobile phone
● 19% of search queries in the travel industry are from mobiles
(was 11% in 2011)
● 16% of search queries in retail are from mobiles (was 10% in
2011)
● 20% of all YouTube views are from a mobile device
● Mothers day 2012 – 50% of all online sales came from
mobile devices
● 28% of people in the UK have purchased something using
their phone

5. Web Solutions

6. Distinct Websites?
● Some website owners opt for a distinct mobile site
● WordPress plugins
● BBC has m.bbc.co.uk
● Advantages
● Can develop without affecting a working desktop sized
website
● Disadvantages
● Duplication of development effort, maintenance overhead
● Duplication of content
● What about tablets? 3 websites?

7. Responsive Websites
● Ethan Marcotte coined the term
Responsive Web Design in 2011
● Same content base is used
● Detect the device resolution
and serve an appropriate
layout
● Mobile First, progressive
enhancement

8. Under The Bonnet
● Use CSS3 media queries
● adapt the layout to the viewing
environment
● proportion-based grids
● flexible images

9. Challenges
● How do you create a design?
● Technologies
● Flash does not operate natively on mobile devices
● Javascript switched off on some smartphones
● Interface & interactions – more thought about UX
● Larger buttons, larger text inputs?
● When does a website become an App?
● Cost

10. Questions?
Email: nigel@amodeowebdesign.co.uk