With the surge of different types of smart phones entering the market lately, this has made it easier for people to access the internet any time, anywhere. Newer phone models now are Wi-Fi equipped, so as long as there is a signal you can easily access your email or do some quick research on the web. So now the real 
challenge is for web designers to make their webpage optimized for mobile use. Unlike a computer monitor, a mobile screen is smaller in size and can only show a part of the website. If a web site is not optimized for mobile viewing, the user will experience never ending scrolling just to get a full view of the website. So how do web designers solve this problem?
Here are some tips to optimize your website for mobile use:
- Use a mobile plugin. For bloggers out there, if you are using web sites like WordPress, Drupal, or any content management system, it is best to get a mobile plug in. Websites like these now are equipped to make it easy for you to let your mobile followers check your blog entries. Usually it is just a click away and most of it is free. There are also premium mobile plugins which require payment, or a monthly or yearly subscription to the website.
- Creating a domain. The first step in creating a webpage for mobile use is whether to use the same URL for both desktop computers and mobile users or creating totally different URL for mobile use. Having the same URL is highly beneficial because it is easier to remember and does not create confusion when it comes to remembering the website address.
- Mobile content. Another challenge for web developers is how to fit everything found in the website into that small mobile screen. Browsing through the internet at home while sitting in front of a widescreen computer monitor creates a highly different web browsing experience as compared when one is at the mall, at the grocery, or inside a car and train, and browsing through that tiny cell phone screen which is barely 3 inches wide.
People browsing the internet through their mobile phones expect everything to be simplified. This is what the web developers have to have in mind, to fit everything into the mobile screen without losing any of the important details and functions found at the website as seen on a regular desktop computer.
Most of the time, what people would want to see in a mobile webpage is just small thumbnail photos and mostly words and hyperlinks. Other features of a website like games or other unnecessary things should be left out of the website. It is also advisable not to place big advertisements on the screen, because they might eat up all the space.
- Consider different mobile brands. When creating your website, make sure that it will look perfect on any mobile device from which it is accessed. There are a lot of phones that have different web browsers. For example, Nokia uses WebKit for its S40 and S60 models, while Apple uses Mobile Safari for its iPhone. And the Android uses Google.
You also have to know how your website will look like on each of the different browsers. As a first time mobile web optimizer, you can use certain emulators to check how your website will look. There are lots of emulators available like the iBBDemo2, Opera Mini Emulator, Blackberry Web Development Page, Android SDK and the Symbian S60 SDKs. All of these will help you properly design your website for a specific model.
We have now come a long way when it comes to mobile web browsing. Even simple, non techie individuals can now make their blogs accessible to mobile devices. It’s simple and easy and even your blog sites have their own tutorials when it comes to optimizing a website for mobile use. All one needs is practice, testing, and the right steps for optimizing. With these three steps one can achieve a mobile website which is easy, simple, and worth visiting even while you’re on the go!
Susan Vargas about mobile technology, web hosting business reviews and local search. She’s a strong believer in the future of mobile tech.