Creating an ad hoc website or adapt the existing one?

The first choice we faced in creating the mobile version of an existing web site, is the decision about the construction of a new website specially designed for viewing on mobile devices (ad hoc website) or opt for the adaptation Site "normal" to the new requirements of mobility (adapted version).

At first glance, the second street (adapted version) seem the easiest to follow but, in reality, things are not exactly like this: to adapt a web page, designed to be viewed on a normal computer, the mobile display is not easy and involves more of a problem.

Create a mobile website requires adapting the desktop version, in fact, that the original web site was made with the necessary expertise through a clear separation between design and code. If this is done you can reuse the code by applying a different design (suited to the peculiarities of mobile devices such as smartphones). If the development of the original site, by contrast, has not been done in this way (code and design elements are mixed) the portability of devices other than computers becomes much more complex.

And 'right to recall, however, that the choice of having a single site multi-device (that is accessible regardless of device used) is one of the recommendations of the W3C on accessibility and has a number of advantages such as, for example, cost maintenance (you will have to manage a single platform instead of two). That said, however, you should take into account a number of drawbacks that, in my opinion, they favor the creation of a dedicated website:

• Adapting a structure designed for use by computers is not simple and, in case of large and complex sites, makes it quite likely to make mistakes (for example, because certain elements exceed the width of the display);
• The use of content on mobile dispoitivi demands simplicity and synthesis, while at times the site designed for use on shared computers are loaded with information that pottrebbero making slow and difficult to navigate on the move;
• Some recurring elements in common web pages - such as flash animations - are not supported by all mobile devices (eg iPhone and iPad);
• Some elements of interaction (such as forms) are difficult to adapt to mobile use (or rather, they are but only through a careful redesign);
• Some features (such as downloading files) are not universally supported by mobile devices and may cause errors or failures unpleasant;
• Not all mobile devices properly handle the media attribute of CSS, which is prepared by the style sheet devoted to handheld-type devices, the same goes for the media queries still do not adequately supported by all devices (especially those older ).

In light of these observations, personally, I would recommend - except in special cases - the creation of an ad hoc version: by doing so you have total control over the appearance of the site and the information obtained through it. Creating a version specifically designed for mobile devices is correrranno less risk of making mistakes and everything will be possible to adapt to the peculiarities of the destination device.

The decision to create an ad hoc website is, of course, that I have adopted in the preparation of this guide which deliberately omit to describe the necessary features for adaptation of an existing site.

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