MARKETING TIP #133
Developing websites for PDA devices.

Personal digital assistants, known as PDAs, and other similar electronic devices have been around only since the mid-1990s. They have made a big impact on our society and culture. Everywhere you look PDAs are being used.

But the real rush for PDAs happened in 2005 when many more advanced devices came equipped with wireless networking and cell phone capabilities. And, according to ComScore, PDA Internet usage increased 107% from January 2008 to January 2009.

Today, with PDA access to a wireless Internet, and cell phones that offer web access, it has never been more important to think about how your website will display on PDAs and Internet devices.

Here are some tips to help you create readable dynamic wireless web pages for PDAs and cell phone devices.

1. Build a wireless-specific page and make the link to it easy to find on your home page, as most people will enter your website from the home page.
2. Keep navigation URL links short. It's a pain to type in large URL names on a PDA.
3. Any programs that go beyond XHTML basics will simply not work on most cell phones. Do not use flash, cookies or tables.
4. Keep your images small. PDAs are not designed for huge images. Most have a screen width and height of about 150 x 150 pixels. And don't put large images at the top of a page: it will take forever to download.
5. Avoid using frames, image maps, plug-in, Javascript, Java, and CSS.
6. Graphics need to be simple on a PDA. Most PDA browsers support images, but they have much less resolution than a personal computer and most only have gray scale screens.
7. Keep content narrow. It will then shrink less on a PDA screen. Divide information into multiple pages; don’t keep it all on one. And remember, most PDA information is reference material.
8. Keep navigation easy to read and easy to execute.

These eight tips for creating websites that work on PDAs and cell phone devices will help build your brand.

If you'd like to develop a dynamic website that works on PDAs, or for an evaluation of one that you are using, North Star Marketing will provide an evaluation at no cost. It's a great step on the path to success.

Check out North Star Marketing's latest eCommerce Whitepaper!

Best,
Bowen Smith
Executive Vice President

P.S. To arrange your evaluation, contact me at bsmith@northstar-m.com or 717-392-6982, ext. 100.

Marketing Tip Home

Sign Up for our Marketing Tips   Enter email address