Designing Your Website with Mobile Users and ESL Students in Mind
The number of people with access to the Internet through mobile phones has increased drastically over the past couple of years. This requires that Web pages be designed for access by cell phones, which demands the use of a whole new programming language and protocol. The cell phone diversity is expansive and requires awareness of the way in which these different devices view the Web. Two basic categories of Web-enabled cell phones exist—those with small monochrome screens and those with large color screens. Both have their own level of performance capacity, and work best in their own Web configuaration. One solution suggested by some is to design the Web pages for the old phones so that every phone will be able to quickly access sites. On the other hand, the person with the newer phone will not be seeing the page with all the colors and detail that the phone allows for. The most expensive way, and probably the best, to deal with this issue is by writing up different Web pages for each phone.
The markup language used for cell phones is called Wireless Markup Language (WML). The content of the page is delivered through the normal HTTP server but a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) must reside between the phone and the server, which defines a standardized method for dealing with issues of security and reliability. WML is restrictive in what it can display so that the majority of Web-enabled cell phones can access the wireless sites. The evolution of WML has been slow, which allowed for a new language to become popular. It is called XHTML MP (Mobile Profile) and has done away with the restrictions of WML. Until most phones can handle the less restrictive language Web sites should be made in both WML and XHTML MP.
The use of images in wireless Web pages is highly reduced compared to typical Web pages. WML uses a special image format called Wireless Bitmap (WBMP), which is so simple that it is really only good for icons and logos. Some graphics editing programs, such as Macromedia’s Fireworks, can edit WBMP images. The best way to design and debug these pages is with the help of WAP browser simulators. These programs run on PCs, and mimic the look and function of wireless-encoded Web pages on a variety of mobile phones. Other ways in which Web sites can increase user access is by constructing pages with certain considerations in mind such as cultural differences and differences in computer and monitor resolutions in addition to attractive design and content.
It may be easy for many Web designers to think that most symbols are universally understood. Many library Web sites, for example, use shopping carts to indicate item-checkout; but, in many countries this icon has no meaning. In addition to the symbol, the terminology cannot always be translated directly. Shopping trolley or shopping bag would make more sense in many cultures. In the U.S., the use of the color red is understood as an indication of warning. However, this color in Asian countries, for example, does not mean the same thing. The French tend to see purple as the color of funeral parlors and death, which may encourage some sites to shy away from using an all-purple color scheme. The use of an image of a palm facing forward is a symbol for “stop” in many countries. In Asia, this is considered to be a threatening gesture.
One way to help make sites more user-friendly for certain cultures is by offering translated versions of pages in specific languages. This can be accomplished cheaply with the use of translation software. The automation of translation is bound to present some faulty conversions, but it is a step in a direction that will improve communication and access to the international community. In addition to cultural considerations, the layout of a Web site can make a significant difference in aesthetics and usability that are essential for attracting regular users.
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