Thursday, January 19, 2012

Design for Wireless Devices

Step 45.

A growing number of wireless users are browsing and searching the Internet on their handsets.

The United Kingdom, for example, has neared saturation for mobile devices and many handset browsers can now handle sites designed for viewing on computers. In addition, the American Red Cross raised over $30,000 million for their Haiti Earthquake Relief efforts via Mobile Giving.

Image of Mobile Giving in Action

The following are seven things to consider when you design for wireless devices.

1. Help people meet their needs quickly. Make sure your content gets to the point fast.
2. Present your content in the right logical order as a user would desire to see it.
3. Stay vertical, PC Web sites are designed for a landscape screen. You want to stack your content vertically for a portrait wireless screen.
4. Don’t put universal navigation on each page, there just isn’t enough room.
5. Make sure you do allow for a “Back” and “Home” link on each page.
6. Make sure whatever the wireless cursor is on, that it is highlighted in a different color so the user can tell where they are at on your page.
7. Consider creating a site just for wireless. Web sites that are designed for wireless perform significantly better with users than those that are not.

One additional thought in regards to acquiring text donations. Do not add text giving on your organization's homepage. Because of the limitation on donation amounts via texting, you will be downgrading giving when you compare them with your average gift size via your Web site.

Image of the IPad and Steve Jobs

The iPad is changing the way Web sites are built.


Givers Take Image, While I am here at your charity's event, I wanted to confirm your last year's financials.

Step 46. Create a Photo Gallery
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