If you are a web designer who doesn’t have experience building for the mobile web, you are at a distinct disadvantage these days. Equally, if you are a website owner whose site is not optimised for mobile devices, visitor levels will soon decline.
There is so much material on the mobile web it is easy to feel overwhelmed. As Amanda asks; “where do you start?”
Consider users of the mobile web
As Cyndy suggested on Twitter, you might want to start by taking a step back and thinking about who your users are and what they want.
@koogar @boagworld persona development. who is accessing your info on mobile devices, and why?
— Cyndy McCollough (@LawMktgGeek) January 28, 2013
The mobile web is about content first
When you actually come to build for the mobile web, the fundamental starting point has to be the content as Mark points out:
@boagworld With the content…
— Mark Stickley (@markstickley) January 28, 2013
Understanding the options
With a clear idea of who your audience is and what content you wish to communicate, the next step is to consider the different options available to you. For that I recommend reading my own post on your four mobile options:
Read about your mobile options
Learning about the mobile web
If after reading about the options, you decide that a website is the right approach then it is time to delve into how to make that happen. There are no end of resources but here were the top suggestions from Twitter.
@boagworld Brad Frost has a nice collection of resources at mobilewebbestpractices.com
— Niels Pilon(@nionwebdesign) January 28, 2013
@boagworld I’d suggest watching @beep A Dao of Flexibility on @besquare_me then read Mobile First by @lukew in @abookapart series.
— Erin Weigel (@endesignonline) January 28, 2013
@koogar here dev.opera.com/articles/view/…
— bruce lawson (@brucel) January 28, 2013
So there you go Amanda. Hopefully that gives you some idea of where to begin your journey. If that all leaves you confused, you can always hire a web design agency to do the work for you ;-)
Here is a question for you
What else would you add to this list of resources about the mobile web? What other advice would you give Amanda?