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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCING THE MOBILE WEB
as distinct media — even spawning entirely separate industries. Is there more to that distinction
than simply the fact that the two have different sized screens?
Yes, of course. And the differences are context and user expectation. A cinema - goer is in a distinct
state of mind: possibly out for the evening with friends or family, prepared to pay money for a
very particular piece of visual entertainment, and amenable to being presented with a solid period
of rich, visual storytelling — the movie he ’ s selected. The television occasionally gets used in this
way, of course, but also services different sorts of expectation from its users: turning it on quickly
to catch the news, short episodic programming, children ’ s ad - hoc entertainment, or even just as
background noise. The way humans want to interact with the technology determines how content
gets created for it.
So it is with the mobile web. Yes, many mobile devices can render the same websites as those
designed for a desktop screen, but apart from the technical limitations of doing so, the ways in
which the two technologies actually get used can also be very different. A desktop user is sedentary,
probably relatively comfortable, and quite probably using the Web for a lengthy session, either
professionally or for leisure. A mobile user, snatching time to use her handheld browser, perhaps
on the move, is more likely to have a shorter browsing session, has a focused goal in mind, and is
far less likely to surf aimlessly about. The mobile user can easily be in a distinctly different state of
mind and bringing an entirely different set of expectations to his web browsing experience.
Of course, there will be individual websites where exactly the same content, and exactly the same
design, can be presented to multiple types of devices and users in different contexts. A site that
comprises merely a simple collection of plain text documents, for example, probably doesn ’ t need to
change signifi cantly between mobile and desktop consumption (assuming the layout and typography
adapts to different physical constraints).
But few sites on today ’ s Web are as static and immutable as that. Through the prevalence of content
management systems, even the simplest personal website is database - driven, dynamically themed,
administered online, and encouraging of reader feedback. Not only is it valuable to think about how
different types of readers might want to consume the information on such a site, but it ’ s extremely
easy to implement solutions that take account of the types of browsers they use, reformatting the
page, promoting different sections of the site, resizing graphics for different screens, and so on.
From a site owner ’ s point of view, this is exciting: The mobile web is a distinct enough new medium
to consider as a priority when designing and building a site, so it ’ s arguably a revolution . But from a
practical point of view on the server, its implementation is merely an evolution : You can use today ’ s
tools, today ’ s plug - ins, and your existing experience, and you can make use of the current content
and functionality that you provide to the homogenous desktop user base and potentially get it into
the hands of billions of mobile users. This is the journey you are taking in this book.
REVISITING ASSUMPTIONS
Before embarking upon a discussion about the practicalities of developing mobile websites, let ’ s
think about some of the opportunities that a mobile web brings and how it should encourage you to
revisit many of the assumptions you may have made about today ’ s desktop web.
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