Newsletter issue #43 - 1st October 2007
This issue
Hello and welcome to the October edition of the Webcredible newsletter!
In this issue:
- Feature article: 7 usability guidelines for websites on mobile devices
- Top tip: Get your website ready for mobile devices
- Useful program: Windows screen magnifier
- Top link: CSS3.info
- New articles in September
- Webcredible news in September
Enjoy!
Feature article: 7 usability guidelines for websites on mobile devices
Usability and page design for websites on mobile devices is very different to that on PCs. Webcredible has conducted research amongst mobile phone users to uncover 7 key usability guidelines for websites on this medium. Ensure your site adheres to these important guidelines and watch its usability on mobile phones soar!
Read this article in full at www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/mobile-guidelines.shtml.
Top tip: Get your website ready for mobile devices
The number of people using mobile devices (phone, PDA etc.) continues to grow at a rapid rate. Our feature article this month highlights the usability guidelines to which your site should adhere. But what can you do to get your site ready and working on this platform? In reality, you have three options...
- Do nothing Wordtracker is one of the most essential tools out there for keyword research. Simply enter a keyword phrase and it'll tell you how popular that phrase is. It will also suggest alternatives and tell you how popular those are too. It does this across all search engines so you can gain a comprehensive picture of the phrases people use when running searches. Wordtracker isn't free and charges a nominal fee.
- Create a handheld stylesheet A good short-term (and very quick-to-implement) solution is to create a stylesheet that only gets called up for handheld devices, giving you far more control over the look and feel of your website on mobile devices. The stylesheet can also hide on-page items that you don't want to appear on mobile devices (through the CSS command display: none). This isn't the perfect solution as a number of browsers on mobile devices don't support handheld stylesheets.
- Build a mobile-only site By far the best solution, creating a modified website for mobile devices is of course also the most time-consuming (by far). You'll need to implement server-side detection to check that users are on a mobile device and then send them the revised mobile-specific site. Read through our article of the month for some essential usability guidelines for doing this!
Useful program: Windows magnifier
The Windows magnifier is bundled in with Windows XP. It's essentially just a very basic screen magnifier but is great if you want to quickly check how your site looks through a screen magnifier.
Check out this program on your PC at Start > Programs > Accessories > Accessibility > Magnifier.
Top link: CSS3.info
CSS3.info is a great site for anyone that wants to know how CSS is developing in both the short- and long-term. The previews section is particularly good.
Check out this site at www.css3.info.
New articles in September
Read this and many other articles at www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources.
Webcredible news in September
- Webcredible is looking for a part-time bookkeeper
- New intermediate CSS training now available
- We're recruiting a front-end developer!
Read these news stories in full at www.webcredible.co.uk/about-us/latest-news.shtml.
We're still recruiting!
Webcredible currently has job vacancies for a user experience consultant and a front-end developer. Send in your CV and you could be working here in our London offices sooner than you think!
Read about these exciting vacancies at www.webcredible.co.uk/jobs.
Vote in our poll!
We're running a poll to find out about your mobile / cell phone Internet usage. We'd really appreciate it if you took a moment to vote in our poll - it'll only take about 10 seconds of your time!
Put your opinion across and vote in our poll at www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/polls.
Training courses
Courses continue to sell out well in advance! Our next training courses will take place in our training centre in Aldgate, London in October, November and December:
- Usability testing training - Monday 5th November. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our usability testing training page.
- Writing for the web training - Monday 1st October, Tuesday 6th November & Monday 3rd December. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our writing for the web training page.
- Web usability training - Wednesday 3rd October, Wednesday 7th November & Tuesday 4th December. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our web usability training page.
- Web accessibility training - Thursday 4th October, Thursday 8th November & Wednesday 5th December. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our web accessibility training page.
- Intermediate CSS training - Thursday 6th December. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our intermediate CSS training page.
- Advanced CSS training - Friday 5th October, Friday 9th November & Friday 7th December. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our advanced CSS training page.
About Webcredible
Based in London, UK, Webcredible is a user experience consultancy. Tailor-made usability, accessibility & design solutions include:
- User-centered design
- Accessible web design
- CMS services
- Usability
- Accessibility
- Training
- Website review lite
Please contact us on 0870 242 6095 or info at webcredible.co.uk, or consult www.webcredible.co.uk for further information.