Mobile Websites
Overview
Recent technological and service provider advances means that nearly 800 million users (Jupiter Research) will have access to the internet from their mobile phone by the end of 2007.
Coupled with huge investment in this industry sector, mobile internet browsing is set to explode over the next two years and many companies are preparing themselves by making sure that they are ready with their new, mobile websites. Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines already provide a dedicated results for mobile websites and with far fewer mobile sites compared to conventional websites, those companies already providing the mobile experience are taking advantage of far less competition for the top spots. Cheaper browsing, faster response and an ever increasing number of mobile websites means that every day the user experience is improving, which in turn means more users.
You can now get the news, sports results, shop, bet, watch videos and even use Skype from your mobile phone or PDA, with new websites for video streaming of entire films or tv, home security and much, much more not far away.
At Design Atom we are experienced in creating websites for mobile devices and because we always design and code our websites to the latest industry standards our websites will always work correctly on compliant devices. We can also include a "browser sniffer" to automatically detect which type of device is trying to access your website and direct them to your mobile website or conventional website accordingly. If you‘re interested in joining the mobile internet rush we can provide a website that will let you establish your business with a professional, smart and well functioning site. Just Contact Us with your requirements and we will provide a quote for your new mobile website.
Modern mobile phones and service providers allow reliable access to the internet from almost anywhere, and since all the major search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN provide optimised results, users can now find products and services whilst on the move. Plus with four mobile phones purchased for every computer, and with modern devices incorporating built in internet browsers, the mobile internet world is set to explode with many businesses already jumping on the bandwagon.
Unlike personal computers, mobile phones have small screens, much lower memory capabilities and rely on slower connection speeds than broadband. Also users have much smaller download allowances per month with higher charges for additional usage. Because of these huge differences it is necessary to produce separate websites for mobile phones and other similar devices, which have to be optimised to provide the user with fast download, small footprint (memory usage) webpages suitable for small displays. In fact, most existing websites will not run on a mobile device with others producing spurious results and excessive download times.
The unreliability of mobile websites in the past has previously held back the expansion of this emerging market because potential users were unsure whether they would receive a working webpage on their mobile phone. In the worst cases a user would pay (their mobile provider) for downloading content, only for it to be rejected by their device. To overcome these problems 2006 saw an initiative to make internet browsing from mobile devices more reliable with the introduction of the dot Mobi top level domain.
Owners of dot Mobi domains are required to ensure they follow strict guidelines for the programming of their websites and these make sure that dot Mobi domains are displayed correctly on (compliant) mobile devices. This provides the user with confidence that should they call a dot Mobi domain from their mobile device they will receive content that can be handled by their device. Additionally, dot Mobi owners are required to provide the webpage content in a small memory size so the user does not incur big costs from their service provider. Whilst it is not an absolute requirement to use a dot Mobi domain, it does mean the user can be confident they will see a page on their mobile device, and many companies now use a dot Mobi domain for their mobile website in addition to their standard site.
Mobile Website Requirements
To ensure that mobile websites work correctly with all devices and as efficiently as possible, the World Wide Web Consortium ( W3C® ) has produced a Mobile Web Initiative which defines standards for mobile device manufacturers, software providers and mobile website designers. mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd, the global registry for the new dot Mobi domains, has also produced developer guidelines for the design of mobile websites which are mandatory for dot Mobi sites and recommended for others.
Our Websites
At Design Atom we produce all of our mobile websites in compliance with the Mobile Web Initiative and dotMobi developer guidelines, so that your website will work correctly with all compliant devices. Our sites are also designed to ensure that the website content is optimised for display on mobile devices to ensure your customer experiences fast download, minimum cost and maximum experience.
We test all of our mobile websites using the "ready.mobi" evaluator to make sure that they meet with dot Mobi compliance requirements plus industry best standards. We then test our websites using a mobile device emulator plus real mobile phones to make sure that they work and display correctly. All this testing ensures that your site will function properly and display just how we designed it, on all compliant mobile devices.
Using our unique browser sniffer we check which type of device is accessing your mobile website and if it is not a mobile device then we redirect it to your main site. If we have also designed your main website we will use our browser sniffer to make sure that mobile devices are correctly directed to your mobile website.
Find Out More
If you like the sound of our mobile websites, or you require any other aspect of software design then we can certainly help you. To find out more use the "Quick Links" to the right or Contact Us with your requirements.
