Is there any difference between mobile phones sites and web sites?  If so what do we have to consider before creating a mobile website design?

Let’s compare how a user interacts with desktop applications and mobile platform applications.  A user uses the mouse and the keyboard to interact with any desktop applications or browse the Internet.

The situation with mobile phone is completely different.  A mobile phone is in a user’s hand. The size of a mobile phone makes interaction very personal to oppose to desktop.  A mobile device has a touch-screen and sound feedback.  A mobile can react to tilting, vibrating and audio input.  So a mobile device gives a user more personal and tangible interaction and allows a user to be responsive and more connective to it.

On the other hand a small screen reduces visible options and requires users to rely on their short-term memory.  This makes the interaction harder.  Therefore, designing for mobile devices you have to take into account the small size of the screen.  Most users use a mobile to get some information quickly ‘on the go’.

For example, you create a mobile site for local Italian restaurants.  First things a user wants to know are location of the restaurant, directions and a contact phone number.  Thus this information would be very useful on the home page as well as a welcome message.  Information has to be represented in a compact format.  So a user does not need to scroll a page from left to right or up and down.  Keep in mind your design should be simple and easy to use.

Text entry for mobile users can be awkward.  Thus you have to encourage users to use a given phone number rather than type a text.  Do not involve users in heavy interaction and complicated tasks.

Also downloading time is even longer than it would be on dial-up.  Thus I would recommend making pages short in length, so every mobile device can display a page in full length, but not only iPhone or Android.  It allows users to see a full page on the screen and do not wait for downloading of missing part of text.

Moreover you need to establish clean layout with considerable space between clickable elements.   Do not forget about typography.  Use sans-serif fonts for large blocks to increase readability.  Also consider contrast colour of text and background to ensure that text is visible and readable.

A very good source of information is ‘Mobile Websites for Offline Businesses’ video series by Matt Bush.  In this video Matt Bush explains how to build a mobile site even if you do not know mobile programming.  Also he shows how to approach local businesses and convince them to build mobile sites.

It is important to show them their website’s (if they have one) on a mobile device and encourage them to have a mobile site as well.  He describes a lot of useful tactics for approaching local businesses and make good money using your skills.  So if you are considering this option, buy Matt Bush’s product and start your own business today.