Adding Value with a Mobile Friendly Website

Mobile versions of websites are becoming an increasingly important component to any website build and online strategy. Our latest web design projects have utilized the 1140 Grid Framework to allow for easy viewing on various devices without having to build out a completely separate mobile version. Having a mobile friendly website is convenient to your consumers and as such may also set you apart from the competition.

Find out more about what to consider and how utilizing the 1140 Grid framework may serve the needs of your mobile visitors.

What is 1140 Grid CSS?

1140 Grid CSS is a scaleable grid framework. It allows the website to scale to varying size monitor resolutions and devices. In doing so it provides an optimized viewing experience for each visitor. No more zooming in to read items on a website on your mobile phone! It is important to note that although you are essentially scaling down the website you are also provided with many areas for flexibility in terms of targeting the needs of users on the various screen resolutions.

Optimizing for the mobile user:

There are a number of design and functionality aspects that should be considered and can be modified within the 1140 framework.

• Customize the navigation for fingers instead of a mouse - drop-down menus don't work well.
• Prioritize the order of content - what content is most important and should display above others?
• Optimize slideshow effects for mobile devices - fancy effects should be kept to a minimum on a hand-held device to keep load times quick and page transitions seamless
• Hide components that are not neccesary - do not display items that do not fit or function well on the smaller screens

As such you are not just scaling down the website but you can also set various parameters to optimize the experience for your clients.

Mobile Build Considerations:

Utilizing this framework is not to replace developing a custom mobile version for cases that are complex, however for the majority of websites it provides an effective solution.

1140 Grid Considerations:

• Don't forget to utilize the gutters. This is to ensure content does not hit the edges on mobile devices making it easier to view and read.
• Allow additional hours for testing and tweaking on the various devices.
• Scaling it down is not enough. Navigation considerations, usability considerations all come into play and should be addressed.
• Check your slideshows. Depending on how your slideshow is set-up it may cut-off rather than scale (speaking from experience). Choose a simple slide or fade effect that is available to scale. Fancier effects can be set to display on the larger monitors depending on set-up.
• You are utilizing a Grid. Designs and functionality considerations do come into effect. Discuss these with your web development team.

The 1140 Grid Framework provides an effective mobile friendly website for the majority of website owners. Interested in finding out more? Have a question on utilizing this framework? Give us ashout or post in the comments below.