The web has been in a constant state of flux since the mid-nineties when businesses initially caught onto the idea of marketing to customers online. While trends have come and gone, the one stabilizing factor has been change. From the initial web designs to search engine optimization to the inclusion of video, social media, and other interactive features, even today’s companies aren’t immune to the shifting winds of the web, and with smart phones becoming increasingly an important component to the way many do business, mobile web design is ever more important.

One survey estimated that by 2013, 1.7 billion users will access the web with a mobile device. Thanks to the ongoing push toward better web access from phones and other mobile devices in more places, that number is likely to go up instead of down, and that means one thing for businesses everywhere – stronger mobile web designs that offer potential customers the level of information, access, and interactivity necessary to keep them interested in an ever growing market share.

Throughout this three part series, we’ll take a careful look at why you should design a site for your mobile web customers, as well as your goals and expectations for that site design. Additionally, we’ll review the best practices for designs and the common challenges many mobile web designers and companies face today. First, however, it’s essential to face the reasons behind mobile web design.

Why Bother With Mobile Web Design?

Open any page online from your iPhone, Blackberry, or other web-enabled mobile device, and you’re likely to notice one thing immediately – the functionality you’ve come to expect from your widescreen monitor on your desk, or even from your laptop or netbook simply isn’t available, and there are lots of reasons for this. To begin with, mobile web browsers offer an entirely different look at the web than traditional browsers do. Because of the limitations of a phone’s capabilities, they simply can’t work as intuitively as many of today’s most popular browser’s can. From Opera Mini to Safari, they certainly all have their high points, but few of them actually act like the browser on your desktop might. Moreover, not all of today’s browsers support the technology some sites incorporate. Flash and Javascript aren’t always part of the equation, and that may mean that part of your site gets missed by mobile viewers.

Another reason they’re simply unable to function as your typical browser might is the screen size. Often the size and resolution of a screen for any mobile device is quite puny when you begin to consider the capabilities of any desktop screen. A common Samsung model is 128 x 128 pixels. Even the iPhone just has a 320 x 480 pixel screen. Because most sites are so graphic intensive these days, screen size and resolution can truly affect the experience your site has to offer, and as a result, a specifically designed mobile site can change a visitor’s experience entirely.

Finally, connection speed and reliability are almost always an issue for mobile browsers. While the networks across many countries are continually improving, the idea that individuals using a mobile device to browse are always going to get the strong connection necessary to download your site simply isn’t a reality yet. As a result, a heavy site may only prove a frustration to mobile users.

Creating Goals and Expectations for Your Design Team

As soon as you realize you truly need a site for mobile users, you’ll begin thinking a bit about what it should look like and what you might want to incorporate. Before you ever speak to your design team, however, building realistic goals and expectations for your mobile site is key. There are a few things to remember:

• Simplicity is King: Even with the evolution of the Internet, there are still millions of sites that stretch the limits of the imagination and the attention span. Take a moment to view any homemade website, and you’ll quickly find that busy designs are still very much part of the equation. For mobile web browsers, this effect is only amplified. Even a site like Amazon.com can seem complex on a small screen with little functionality. In terms of both site design and the functions available, you must think as simply as possible for the best results. This is not to say that your website need resemble the static designs of the early nineties. Form is still essential to attracting customers, but eliminating some graphical elements as well as long menus and extensive text may be essential.

• Single Handed Controls: While most use both hands as they’re tied to the desktop or laptop, that’s not the case when it comes to mobile devices. As a result, functionality shouldn’t require any more than simple controls for any smart phone user.

• Browsing Platforms Differ: Full browsers are fairly forgiving when it comes to poor coding, but that’s not the case in the world of mobile browsing. What works in Opera may not translate well to Safari or any other mobile browser, so the aspects of the site that you choose to include must work with all mobile browsers.

Once you begin to understand what you can do with a mobile website, creating a dialog with your design team will be a much easier process.