Mobile Websites 101: WAP vs. CSS

January 15, 2010 | by Tracy Betts | Posted in User Experience

We've all been in those meetings. Someone asks a question and 5 people around the table whip out their phones to find the answer on the Internet.

Our everyday experience backs up the ever growing statistic: 199 million Americans use some type of non-voice mobile service, from text messaging to video streaming, according to the Mobile Marketing Association.

Most of our clients are getting themselves prepared to serve their members and customers over the mobile web. They are asking for their websites to be viewable over mobile devices and there is a clear interest in how to use SMS (that's for another day).

There are a couple of ways to ensure that your website works well for mobile devices:

HTML/CSS

For most of our clients we create a separate stylesheet for mobile devices. This creates an HTML- or CSS-formatted website that looks nice in most smartphones. The Balance Interactive website is a good example. Our website has a special CSS template for mobile devices. The site looks exactly the same on an iPhone as it does on a computer screen - only smaller. However, if you look at our website over an older Blackberry device you will notice slight differences. It's navigable and easy to view. But to acheive this on a smaller screen, the design elements are not as apparent and the experience isn't as "tight." (Check it out for yourself and you will better understand what I mean by "tight.")

HTML/CSS is the minimum your organization should be doing to ensure that your website is easily viewed by mobile users.

WAP

WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocal. WAP sites are not HTML/CSS formatted, they are specifically designed for wireless handsets. Our WAP sites are built to detect the handset/carrier/OS of the user's mobile device, then reformat the content size of all elements in the WAP site to deliver a perfect-looking, perfect-fitting, and proportionallly correct WAP site to your customers.

For many of our clients, we are recommending a combination of the two methods. We suggest creating an HTML/CSS template for the entire website. We then suggest taking key portions of the website and converting those to WAP. 

Are Mobile Users Missing Calls to Action?

What are the calls to action on your website that you cannot afford your users to miss when viewing your site on their mobile phone?

• Can your members easily view upcoming events?
• Can they easily register for events?
• What about specific email promotions? If I view your email offer on my phone and click through, does that landing page easily display on my browser?

If you have not taken the time to think about how your organization is using the mobile web, the time to start thinking is now.

Let us know if you need a hand getting started or simply pick up the phone and call. We're happy to demystify the process for you.