| It cannot be denied that almost everything nowadays | | | | mobile phone emulators (software that imitate the |
| is mobile. Whereas before laptops were not common, | | | | environment of a mobile phone) that can be |
| today these gadgets are abundant and actually cost | | | | downloaded from the Internet. The mobile web |
| lower than they used to cost before. Cellular phones | | | | designers can use these emulators to speed up the |
| were not the trend in the past, but nowadays almost | | | | testing phase of their projects. Because of these |
| everyone has a cellphone. | | | | improvements, the ways of how to design and build |
| Recognizing these, cellular companies and website | | | | mobile web sites are much easier and faster. |
| programmers have launched what is now called the | | | | To facilitate faster development of WAP sites, the |
| Wireless Application Protocol. Abbreviated as WAP, it | | | | World Wide Web consortium or the W3C has |
| is the international standard for Internet access using a | | | | developed a scheme in which developers can assess |
| mobile phone or from a personal digital assistant. The | | | | if their web sites are ready to be accessed by mobile |
| mobile application for WAP is very similar to a web | | | | phones. The registry of mobile ready sites, mTLD has |
| browser in computers (Mozilla Firefox, Opera, atc.) but | | | | even released a tool, named "MobiReady Report" to |
| with some features removed to comply with mobile | | | | test for the mobile readiness of website using |
| phone standards. | | | | established practices and standards of the industry. |
| With WAP, mobile users can access services | | | | These tools can be used as a reference as to how to |
| provided by various websites from their cellphones. | | | | design and build mobile web sites faster. |
| They can send email, browse through the latest news | | | | There are basic principles and limitations one should be |
| reports in major news websites, track news about | | | | aware of in designing a mobile website. Summarized, |
| their favorite sport events and even download music | | | | these limitations are:o Only Cascading Style Sheets |
| files to their phones. This is very useful for | | | | can be used to design the layout of your mobile |
| businessmen, who are always on the go and might | | | | website. In contrast to conventional websites, one |
| sometimes find carrying a laptop around as tiresome. | | | | cannot use tables to lay out the design of the pages.o |
| Despite its similarity to the Hypertext Markup | | | | XHTML (Extended HTML) and XML (Extensible |
| Language used to design websites, WAP sites are | | | | Markup Language) can be used to hard-code the |
| created using the Wireless Markup Language. Similar | | | | pages' design.o Only characters encoded using the |
| to HTML, WML provides web interface features such | | | | UTF-8 standard can be readable and accepted by |
| as navigation, data input forms, hyperlinks, text and | | | | mobile phones' browsers.o There are specific page |
| images. | | | | sizes for each specific phone. The pages have a |
| How Mobile Internet Works | | | | resolution of 640x480 at most, and 120 pixels on the |
| Mobile Internet access works much like its | | | | average.o Unlike designing pages that are accessed |
| computer-based cousins. It uses a bridge or gateway | | | | by a computer, in which you have the freedom of |
| to access the World Wide Web. When the user | | | | placing whatever information wherever you may want |
| requests a page, the bridge retrieves the pages from | | | | to put them, you have to place the most important |
| the Web. These pages are then converted into a | | | | information of your WAP site at the top of the page.o |
| format that the phone can read and recognize. | | | | WAP users favor the use of radio buttons and list to |
| One wonderful feature of mobile Internet is that you | | | | take their picks, rather than entering information through |
| can query for phone numbers of certain | | | | text entry fields such as text areas and textfields.o |
| establishments through the Web. You can then use | | | | Only the JPEG and GIF image formats are accepted |
| the numbers that are returned by the query to make a | | | | in a WAP-oriented site.o Mobile phones can only |
| call through your cellular phone, saving you from the | | | | accept a maximum page size of 20 kilobytes. Any |
| hassle of having to dial the number to make a call. | | | | larger than that and it will cause phones to crash when |
| The Process of Designing and Building a Mobile | | | | accessing the pages.o Pure HTML is used a mobile |
| Website | | | | page. You cannot provide links to videos, as well as |
| There is little difference on how to design and build a | | | | the Portable Document Format or PDF. You cannot |
| mobile website as compared to designing conventional | | | | embed Flash and other similar file types as well |
| websites which are accessed from a desktop or | | | | because mobile phones are not yet configured to be |
| laptop browser. But it is important to know these | | | | able to play such files from WAP sites.o Most mobile |
| differences before one decides to tackle the task of | | | | devices access WAP sites with the speed of a dial-up |
| creating websites specific for WAP browsers. | | | | connection. As a designer, you must be careful to |
| For one, designing a mobile website takes a far longer | | | | design your pages in a way that it will be too big and |
| time to complete as compared to its desktop cousins. | | | | take too long for the WAP user to access. Users pay |
| This is because the WAP accessing terminals in each | | | | for the time that they access the Internet through their |
| phone model varies from each other. There is a | | | | phones, so it is important for your pages to load |
| different terminal for Nokia devices, and different ones | | | | quickly.o Mobile devices do not have the luxury of |
| for Sony Ericsson, so on and so forth. WML itself has | | | | navigational icons unlike web browsers. Mobile phone |
| very strict specifications because it is a very different | | | | users are limited to using the directional buttons and |
| beast compared to its ancestor, HTML, despite their | | | | scrollers on their phones to navigate through a page. |
| similarities in the appearance and behavior of sites that | | | | Designers are also encouraged to put in an interface |
| are built using their codes. Thus, one finds that there | | | | to navigate to the previous page because most mobile |
| are different methods of how to design and build a | | | | phones do not have a "back" button in their WAP |
| mobile website that caters to each of these specific | | | | interfaces. |
| phone models. | | | | Mobile websites are hosted using the top-domain |
| To design a mobile website, you need specific | | | | name of .mobi. The domain is approved by the Internet |
| authoring kits for mobile phones. In the beginning, when | | | | Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and is |
| mobile phones did not support the XHTML standard, | | | | managed by the mTLD global registry for domain |
| content providers needed specific development kits to | | | | names. Like mentioned earlier, websites hosted on the |
| come up with WAP-specific pages. This is in great | | | | .mobi domain follows a specific standard in order to |
| contrast to designing desktop-accessed pages, where | | | | make sure that they are friendly to mobile phone |
| one only needs a text editor and a browser to design | | | | processors. This standard, released by the W3C, |
| and test a page. | | | | specifies how to design and build mobile websites and |
| Fortunately, WAP authoring kits are available and are | | | | optimizing them for users to achieve positive |
| abundant in the Internet. To search for these kits, one | | | | experience in navigating them. |
| only needs to type "mobile website authoring kits" in | | | | To summarize previous information, these are the key |
| their preferred search engine and will be rewarded by | | | | points of how to design and build mobile websites:o |
| a lot of hits, or search results. These results are links to | | | | You need a content editor in order to design the user |
| the various WAP development kits that can | | | | interface of your mobile website. These editors are |
| downloaded from the World Wide Web. | | | | available from the World Wide Web. Some of them |
| There also documentation available in the Internet | | | | are free, some are commercial.o There are limitations |
| providing information on how to design and build a | | | | that should be remembered when designing websites |
| mobile website. For example, mTLD hosts a myriad of | | | | for the mobile phones, including the screen size (which |
| training resources including ebooks on how to make | | | | is dependent on the phone model you are developing |
| your websites compliant while mobile phone internet | | | | for) and the maximum file size that a WAP-ready |
| standards. | | | | mobile phone can handle.o The content you come up |
| Initially, unlike conventional websites, WAP sites need to | | | | with can be tested using an emulator that is also |
| be tested using a cellular phone itself. This has made | | | | available in abundance in the Internet. These emulators |
| designing and building mobile websites take a far longer | | | | imitate the environment of a cellular phone so you no |
| time to be completed as compared to | | | | longer have to upload your beta content to a host, and |
| computer-based web sites. Nowadays, however, | | | | then access them using a WAP-ready mobile.o Mobile |
| more and more mobile phones are adapting to the | | | | web sites are uploaded and hosted using the ".mobi" |
| XHTML and XML standards. Plus, there are also | | | | top-domain name. |