Every year people look ahead to what they think will be the big trends in the upcoming year. So, how do we think web development will change in 2011?
Gartner, the IT research company, has predicted that within three years, over half of all internet users will be accessing the web via their mobile phones and other handheld devices.
As the demand for Smartphone’s rises, the need for cross platform websites and applications follows suit. Statistics show that the mobile web has grown 110% in the US and 148% worldwide last year, meaning the need for mobile compatibility is extremely high.
Last year was the breakthrough of tablet devices, such as the iPad and the Android Tablet PC, both making their way on to the market to huge interest. It’s these tablet computers that will be one of the main consumer interests in the coming year, making it a learning curve for designers and developers.
Mobile development isn’t new by any means, but these days it’s a lot more advanced. A few years ago the screens were a lot smaller and excessive images on mobiles didn’t work well because the connections were so slow. These days, Smartphone’s have the ability to handle images a lot better, have a larger screen and run 3G for a faster network connection.
Is it difficult to transform your website on to a mobile or tablet platform? One of the main areas that can be a struggle for developers is screen size. Think of the amount of mobile phones on the market and you will see a varied screen size, whether it be height or width. In the development stage websites must be fully tested to allow for these types of occurrences.
The main point to always consider with mobile websites is simplicity is key. Although the design and layout is extremely important, there’s nothing more discouraging to a user than a slow website.
