The document discusses key usability principles for designing mobile applications and websites. It covers limitations of mobile devices like small screens, advantages like personalization, and guidelines for navigation, page design, error prevention, and use of the keypad. The document emphasizes keeping designs simple, consistent, and focused on the user's goals.

1. Mobiles & Usability Nov 2005

7. Designing for Mobiles Nothing is more fun than seeing your Web page (or application) nestled nicely into a teeny tiny handheld screen; and nothing is more excruciatingly horrendous than trying to figure out how to get it there. Heidi Pollok (WebMonkey)

10. Page design Headers – The terminology & the spelling on the header should be the exact same as on the link which led to the page. Sub-headers – If subheaders are used they need to be differentiated from content and menu items. Separation – If a page contains of a number of rows with just plain text and they are followed by a hyper link, separate the static field from the interactive area with a single dashed line. Fonts – For pages to be scan able, fonts should be clear. Avoid over decoration of fonts – only using decoration when attention is needed. Scrolling – Scroll only when necessary, as the user might not scroll if not prompted and might miss information at the bottom of the page. Clutter – Always try to keep the elements on a page as minimum as possible. The information available should not be too much for the user to process. Using a phone to surf the Internet means taking a huge leap away from the fixation with looks.

12. Use of the keypad Less is more – Users should not be forced to enter information in more than one field. Fields that can be should be drop downs or selection lists. To clear or not to clear – do not let the user clear the input fields herself if performing a new function i.e. new search. The system should clear the fields. And if the screen is a modification of the previous screen i.e. in case of errors – the system should remember the text put in by the user in the next screen also. Signing in – A user should be automatically signed in when possible. URLs – Should be fairly short. Search criteria – While entering search criteria, the system should support common abbreviations as far as possible. Numeric keys – The natural way of interaction with a phone is numeric so fields should be numeric if they can and use of the keypad when navigating through a particularly long page should be supported. Text input is difficult on a mobile phone considering the user relies on a set of numeric keys when writing.

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