Some of the principles and techniques applied in web design, a decade ago, no longer hold relevance, thanks to the smartphone and iPad revolution. iPad is one of the gadgets that has mobilised the World Wide Web in real sense, making access to the Internet as easy as making a call. People are using their iPads to browse the Web and search for a myriad of topics. As they facilitate user-friendly access of the Web, iPads are gaining huge popularity among people from all walks of life. This is the reason why the website designers in Sydney and across the world are devising new strategies to build websites that are iPad-friendly. Offering all the functionalities of a smartphone but on a greater scale, iPads have changed how people work.
Because of a smaller screen, accessing standard websites through iPad can sometimes be problematic. When designing a website, the web designer has to ensure that the site is accessible from different mobile devices such as iPad.
In website design for iPad and other mobile devices, some of the factors that must be considered include-
1)Smart fluid width web design- When using iPad, you can view a website either in landscape or in the portrait mode. This is why the website designer should incorporate a smart fluid width web design with a combination of CSS and JavaScript. This makes the web design more flexible and dramatically improves the user experience.
2)Multiple CSS styles- Web design for iPads is not an easy task and so the website designer must use techniques that simplify accessing net from iPad. When fluid layouts cannot be used, a web designer can opt for adaptive CSS. Using multiple CSS styles for different configurations and devices can make a web design mobile friendly.
3)Special effects like hover effect- A standard website may look attractive with the help of special effects such as hover effect, but it may not be functional when accessed from an iPad. This is so because the users access the website through their fingers and the hover effects can act as a hurdle in user experience on iPad.
4)Flash and HTML5- Flash is another element that should be avoided in web design for iPad and other mobile devices. It can dramatically slow down the load speed of a website when accessed from the iPad. Web designers, who want to create mobile-friendly website design must do away with Flash and learn more about HTML5 to gain a competitive edge.
5)Hyperlinks- In mobile web design, hyperlinks cannot be detected by the users as easily as it can be done in a standard web design. The designer must resize the links so that the users can detect such links.
By considering these factors and taking the relevant measures, website owners and designers can get quality visitors to their sites and capitalise on the popularity of iPads for web access. Some prominent brands that adapted their website to be accessible from iPads include Facebook, Twitter and the New York Times.
