Wow, Lee. It seemed Rob was simply expressing an opinion--not
proposing new legislation.
Everyone has their likes, dislikes and pet peeves. I took this as
informative and helpful, actually. While I disagree with a few of
Rob's points, I appreciate the insight -- I'm sure he's not alone in
at least some of his issues and that gives me one more perspective
when designing a site. Sure, he comes off a bit full of himself but
that's a personality thing and I'll not fault folks for that unless
things get offensive.
Scott.
On May 25, 2011, at 7:25 AM, Lee Andron wrote:
Rob, do you really feel that there are rules that apply in every
situation? I can see you feel strongly, but what do you think gives
you the right to impose the things you prefer onto everyone else?
-Lee
On Tue, May 24, 2011 at 10:35 PM, RobG <rg...@iinet.net.au> wrote:
It seems that every site that ever there was has decided to create a
"mobile" version of their site so that when I visit with my iPhone, I
get the mobile version, not the "real" version. While I appreciate
that developers are trying to improve my experience of their site,
there are a couple of fundamental design decisions that are completely
at odds with that goal.
Firstly, do not lock mobile visitors into the mobile site. Makers of
mobile browsers have gone to great lengths to provide features to
acommodate normal web sites on small screens. Most users of mobile
devices are quite capable of using those features (tap-zooming and
panning being the most obvious) to browse "normal" web sites.
If there is a need for a small, light-weight version of the site for
mobile users, by all means make it availble but *please* provide a
"Full web site here" button. There should also be a button from the
main site to the light-weight site, as many "desktop" visitors may
prefer to use the slimed-down interface and simpler functionality
(i.e. they'd like to escape the often overloaded and crowded interface
of most web sites when they have a specific function to perform).
I believe that sites shouldn't require two different interfaces, but
I'm very much into efficient functionality and don't care much for the
overloaded graphics and effects of many current sites.
Secondly, do not, under *any* circumstatnces, disable zooming. Sites
that lock the scale at 1:1 are absolutely detestable. You are saying
to your visitors "if you can't read this font at this size, FOAD".
Most mobile sites use the smallest font they think they can get away
with, so when I'm on a crowded, bumpy train in bad light trying to
read a web site and I can't zoom in to get bigger text, I just leave.
And I don't go back unless I really, really must.
Lastly, do not prevent landscape mode. That is the last resort for
attempting to get the font a little bigger and only emphasises an
ignorance of the needs of mobile users.
There is absolutely no practical reason to do any of the above.
Designers must realise that users will make up their own minds about
how to use a site, and that they may use it in ways that the designer
doesn't expect. But when pages are downloaded to a users' browser,
they become the users' property and they should be able to actually
*use* the site in the way that suits them best.
--
Rob
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "iPhoneWebDev" group.
To post to this group, send email to iphonewebdev@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to iphonewebdev+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/iphonewebdev?hl=en
.
--
-Lee Andron
617-272-0936
http://www.linkedin.com/in/andron
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "iPhoneWebDev" group.
To post to this group, send email to iphonewebdev@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to iphonewebdev+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/iphonewebdev?hl=en
.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"iPhoneWebDev" group.
To post to this group, send email to iphonewebdev@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
iphonewebdev+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/iphonewebdev?hl=en.
