Web Design for the iPhone and Wii

The days of just getting online only through a computer are gone. There are more and more ways people can access the internet through other devices such as phones, pda’s, and gaming systems.

I recently purchased a Nintendo Wii and Apple iPhone (I love both) and have browsed the net with both devices. I wanted to check out some design and usability differences to see if there were any major problems while accessing the internet on them.

Good clean design, css and proper usability comes into play even more on devices such as these as they may not have all the plug ins such as flash or the screen resolution may be limited.

I started with my site for example - www.digitalskratch.com

I recently added the ability to increase and decrease font size right from my website. This will provide better usability and allow users greater control over their viewing experience. On the iPhone for instance it maybe harder to read some of the smaller type, but with these controls it’s not a problem at all. It is easy to increase the font size to make it easier to read.

The next hurdle I had to overcome was the one of flash not working on both platforms. On my website I have 3 flash boxes. So I added a backup graphic that displays incase flash does not play. Again this will provide the user with almost the same experience as on a computer.

With proper programming and design your website should look nearly the same on multiple platforms, operating systems and browsers. More people will start to access the internet through devices such as these and designers / programmers need to be aware of them to provide users with a seamless experience.