Do you Design for the Mobile Web? Should You?
The mobile web, along with the recent release of the iPhone, is something a lot more people are starting to care about. New UIs specially designed for the iPhone and many mobile specific services are starting to pop up.
As a blogger, should you care? Short answer, no. As a web service, you probably should. As a mobile service, you obviously already do.
As a blogger, are you really looking to gain new readers from the mobile market? Probably not. Assuming that, if a mobile phone user wants to view your site, they’re going to have to use an RSS feed. What’s wrong with that? That’s what the user wants anyways, your content. They already know they like it if they’re going out of their way to get it on their phone, so a feed is what the want.
A web service, or news site, like Digg, could really go for a mobile app. They (Digg) already have a customized iPhone interface and a mobile interface, but it’s all just fancy RSS.
That being said, as a blogger you could make your own mobile compatible site. Some parsed RSS, with a full post view, basically. This way, users can browse through excerpts of your posts, and if they like one, read the whole thing. Whether you would want to read a whole post on a tiny screen is up to you, however.
So when it comes down to it, I don’t think it’s totally necessary to break a sweat about how your site looks on a phone screen, yet. On the other hand there could come a day, led by the new iPhone where you’ll stop worrying about screen design and about mobile design. I’m happy with that if there’s one rendering engine!
Leave a comment
cherries
July 13th, 2007 at 12:22 PM
I agree, if you have a blog making it accessible to say… a PSP or a cell phone, it’s just not necessary. But an internet app such as meebo, twitter, or pownce should be accessible via cell phone or PSP.
Very nice article
Ryan
July 13th, 2007 at 1:19 PM
I got really bent out of shape about this last year.
I ended up having this huge script on my header that redirected a list of mobile browsers to a lite version of the blog page.
In the end my phone’s browser still wasn’t supported. I gave up after that.
L3ggy
July 13th, 2007 at 3:23 PM
I don’t really care. I mean only if the iPhone comes to the UK and i get it will i ever use internet on it. Also what do you expect on a phone.
Brad
July 13th, 2007 at 7:44 PM
Umm…
http://www.diggriver.com/
Marky
July 13th, 2007 at 8:08 PM
I have been trying to make my sites more accessable to mobile phones etc.
Do any of you know some sites that could help me do this? Because I would really like to know how it is done. Thanks
Andy
July 14th, 2007 at 10:21 AM
With blogging, I’m sure there must be a mobile RSS reader, and there fore a reader could just enter the RSS URL. Although this may not support some media I guess.
Login »