Ask H&H: optimising websites for iPhone
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Q: I have been told that my online bitting retail shop should be optimised for iPhone technology — is this correct and is it costly?
RG, Beds
Manufacturers Apple sold 7.5million iPhones worldwide in the last quarter of 2009 and many internet users now browse websites on iPhones or similar smart phones.
This means anyone with an online web presence could potentially benefit from assessing their website functionality.
What should I look for?
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Web development company ChilliApple has seen a vast increase in commissions for website adaptations to suit mobile phone browsers.
ChilliApple’s business manager Tansy Burgess said: “It’s important that website owners ensure their sites are able to be viewed on multiple mobile devices.
“Your customers should be able to access all the required information, without having to wait for pages to download; often very costly for the user.”
“Each mobile device displays web content differently,” added Tansy. “Many phones now use touch-screen functionality, which means some features on standard websites, such as lightbox or mouse-over technology, do not work.
“Also, heavily image-based websites may struggle to display content on an iPhone.”
How much work is involved?
“Updating an existing website for the mobile web doesn’t need to be costly or time consuming,” said Tansy. “For some, it’s just a case of making minor amendments to the number or size of images on the site.
“For others, there may be a requirement to create a mobile-specific version of the whole site, but each case is different, as are websites themselves.”
Who should I speak to?
Contact a professional web designer specialising in digital technology for further advice.
Information
ChilliApple, tel: 01634 510025 www.chilliapple.co.uk
This article was first published in Horse & Hound (2 September, ’10)
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