Introduction to web development for mobile devices

In this guide we will try to tackle, in a simple and concise, the main aspects of creating a website optimized for mobile devices. The widespread deployment of smart phones and tablets makes it, in fact, necessary to adapt the common web design techniques to create web pages suitable for display properly on such devices.

Create a mobile version of its web site allows, in fact, not a little to widen the target audience, allowing, in fact, greater accessibility of its online content.

Before deciding whether or not to venture in the development of a mobile site is interesting to know that in Italy the spread of smartphones is very important as an increasing number of our compatriots who subscribe to a plan for navigating the mobile phone. In short, the audience is large and, moreover, continues to grow.

Obviously the importance of having a mobile version of your site varies depending on the type of content you make available on the Internet: it is clear that for a news site to have a version optimized for smartphones is now an indispensable requirement, while for an amateur website that requirement is far from primary.

What is meant by "mobile"?

Mobile devices are electronic devices equipped with features similar to those of a computer but are characterized by smaller dimensions that allow mobile use. Very often these devices also integrate telephony features (such as smartphones).

Mobile devices that are relevant to our guide can be classified into four categories:

1. Phones equipped with browsers for surfing the Net
2. PocketPC (also known as PDA)
3. Smartphones
4. Tablet

The first two types of devices are less common now as obsolete. PocketPC phones and, in fact, have been supplanted by modern smartphones that integrate the functionality into one device.

For our purposes, therefore, take into consideration only the third and fourth types of mobile devices, focusing mainly on the family of smartphones.

The main OS furniture

Also in development for mobile devices, as happens when creating common web pages, you must pay close attention to cross-browser compatibility, or, more correctly, cross-device.

The market for smart phones and tablets, in fact, is very rugged and devices on the market are very different both from a hardware point of view and from that software.

Until recently, the smartphone market was dominated by the Symbian OS (Nokia) Blackberry OS (RIM) and Palm OS (Palm) stragarnde that equips the majority of "smart phones" in circulation.
Things, however, have been complicit in recent years following the birth of the new OS for mobile devices including, above all, Android (Google), IOS (Apple) and the much anticipated Microsoft Windows Phone (designed from the end This year - 2011 - to take the place of Symbian on all new Nokia devices).
Besides those mentioned, of course, there are many others such as mobile OS, to name a few, WebOS (HP) has taken the place of PalmOS, and Meego, open-platform developed by Nokia and Intel Sorce.

Less complex, for the moment, the world of the Apple iPad tablet dominated (provided with the operating system IOS), followed by various devices targati Android and a quota, the marginal now, other systems (OS and Blackberry WebOS).

In developing web pages to smartphones and tablet, then you need to take into account different reference software environments (each with its own browser for surfing the Web) as well as a variety of video resolutions! In short, the work to be done is not easy, but the good web designers do not get discouraged at nothing!

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