Media Outreach

Firefox, IE, Safari, Chrome…this list goes on.  Not too long ago we only had to worry about how to keep your website looking the same from browser to browser.  Now, not only do you have to consider browser type, but also the appearance in the vast array of mobile devices.

The best way to be sure that your website will open quickly and effectively in smart phones, is to create a site that is specifically geared toward the tiny interface of mobile devices.

Here are 7 helpful tips for making your website mobile friendly.

1.    Use fewer images – Images will load incredibly slow in smart phones, especially if they haven’t been optimized for mobile devices.

2.    Utilize ALT text – In the event your end user doesn’t properly view the image, you can fall back on the text to describe what the image is.

**For faithHighway users, you may go into your Admin Panel to add this. In the Edit Mode of your website, with the tool bar displayed, right click the image you want to add ALT text to.  Select Image Properties then enter it into the Alternative Text field and hit OK.

3.    Shrink Image Size – Think small! Make sure your images are less than 100 pixels.

**For faithHighway users, you may do this as well in the Image Properties table. After uploading the image to the Image Library, open the page in Edit Mode.  Select Insert/Edit image (icon that looks like a mountain).   After selecting the image from the File Cabinet, click on the Image Info tab and resize using the Width and Height fields.

4.   Keep Content Brief – Just remember to keep it simple.  The less text we have, the more likely the user will get the vital information they are searching for.  Many use the journalistic “front loaded” writing style which places the most succinct, summary of the content in the beginning of the paragraph. This will allow users to decide if they want to read on or move to the next piece of content.

Here’s a helpful Media Outreach article regarding effective website content.

5.    Minimize usage of online forms – These are pretty time consuming to fill out through a smart phone, so try and only include forms when they are absolutely necessary.

6.    Avoid Flash Content – Although 80% of video is encoded with Flash, few mobile users have Flash on there device. Stick with static content for quick upload.

7.    Left Align Content – Avoid right or center alignment whenever possible.  The screen is so small that you want the text visible as soon as the page loads.  Here are the major mobile device screen sizes:

• Blackberry Bold (480 x 320)
• Blackberry Storm (480 x 360)
• Android (320 x 480)
• iPhone (320 x 480)

For more screen sizes, view this site.

In the event you don’t have a smart phone that browses the internet and want to check out your website through the eyes of a mobile user, visit this simulator: http://www.opera.com/mobile/demo/. More mobile website specifications and tips can be found here.  Happy browsing and mobile site optimizing!

Photo By: Gonzalo Baeza Hernandez