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Single Source Website for Full Spectrum Access

Learn how to create a single source website that can be accessed and read effectively across a wide range of devices. Discover strategies for device independence and design approaches for mobile devices. Explore the challenges of device detection and the importance of providing full functionality on all devices.

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Single Source Website for Full Spectrum Access

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  1. Single Source Website for Full Spectrum Access Rick EllsUniversity of Washingtonrells@cac.washington.eduhttp://staff.washington.edu/rells/ HighEdWebDev2007

  2. Across the spectrum People can access your Web content with a wide range of devices. Can they read it? Is it useful to them? HighEdWebDev2007

  3. UW Home Page on FireFox HighEdWebDev2007

  4. Single source • How far can you go with a single source store in supporting the growing range of access devices? • How far do you want to go in supporting the growing range of access devices? HighEdWebDev2007

  5. Device independence • Standards based designs are flexible • separation of content and presentation • CSS control of presentation • Device independence has been a basic principle Web technology since the beginning HighEdWebDev2007

  6. WAP and XHTML MP • Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) • WAP 1 • Wireless Markup Language (WML) • Dying rapidly, no new WML development • WAP 2 • XHTML Mobile Profile • “Nearly all devices sold today are WAP 2.0 devices and they can access ‘ordinary’ sites, not just XHTML-MP and WML sites” - Cameron Moll HighEdWebDev2007

  7. The mobile context • Is the phone mobile, or the user? • When you are mobile, what kinds of tasks do you want to do? • Tasks immediatelyrelevant to now, here, what’s happening Photo from cs4fn.org HighEdWebDev2007

  8. Miniaturized or mobilized? SouthWest Airlines Mobile Check In Page HighEdWebDev2007

  9. One design for all? Strongly contrasting design approaches! HighEdWebDev2007

  10. UW Home Page on a Palm TX Flex design flowing into a small space HighEdWebDev2007

  11. Technology will fix things? • The capabilities of mobile devices are rapidly improving • Standards-based sites will be usable on more and more devices • Standards compliant • Validated • Div and semantic structure • Separation of content and presentation HighEdWebDev2007

  12. What iPhones want HighEdWebDev2007

  13. UW Home Page on an iPhone Just pinch open to zoom in HighEdWebDev2007

  14. Use “media” to target formatting? • Stylesheet with a media type of handheld <link href=“mobile.css” rel=“stylesheet” type=“text/css” media=“handheld” /> • Styling appropriate to a mobile device, including turning off display of some divisions #ads {display: none; } • Seems to offer a simple way to sense device type HighEdWebDev2007

  15. Problems with “Handheld” • Spotty implementation (not widely or consistently used) • Too general • Wide variety of mobile devices identify themselves as “handheld” • iPhone identifies itself as “screen” • Apple recommends basing conditional styles for the iPhone on screen size, not media type HighEdWebDev2007

  16. Device detection • Check user agent string from mobile device • Compare to table of device types • Wireless Universal Resource File (http://wurfl.sourceforge.net/) • Contains XML data of device characteristics • Generate page appropriate to device abilities HighEdWebDev2007

  17. Emerging Strategy • Standards based single source for conventional browsers and newer PDAs and smartphones • Use device detection to send appropriate pages to less capable devices and small screens Device Detection HighEdWebDev2007

  18. Alternative strategy • Maintain two separate stores? • When is it appropriate to develop an independent set of pages for small devices? Device Detection HighEdWebDev2007

  19. What pages should be full-spectrum functional? • Auth/auth • Directory • Calendar • News • Contacts • Emergency information HighEdWebDev2007

  20. Google Calendar on a Palm TX HighEdWebDev2007

  21. Weblogin on a Palm TX HighEdWebDev2007

  22. Conclusions • Standards-based methods cover a wide range of devices • Mobiles are used in a different context, requiring different designs • Frequent use during the day for brief periods each time • Provide services for here, now, and what’s happening • Small mobiles may require separate pages to support their different function HighEdWebDev2007

  23. Thoughts • Single source for full spectrum access is possible, but it will get complicated if you are to fully support the best role of services delivered on small devices • Key pages should be usable by the full spectrum of devices • Core interactive services (directories, calendars, auth/auth pages) • Rich media and rich applications are designed for specific parts of the spectrum or families of devices • Apps provide higher interactivity, but are tailored to specific devices HighEdWebDev2007

  24. Tri-spectrum thinking Screen size is only onedimension of the designspace of Web deliveredinformation and services. HighEdWebDev2007

  25. Deeper thoughts • Mobile devices are about users who are mobile • The devices will keep changing and improving • The browser is not the Web • Applications can connect to the APIs of services, delivering information without the use of a browser HighEdWebDev2007

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