After the advancements in web designing techniques and arrival of newer technology, web designing for mobile phones has come a long way. Nowadays it is difficult for even an expert to tell the difference between a native mobile app and a mobile website. With the arrival new smart phones powered with newer operating systems like the Android lollipop 5.0 the gap between a native app and a mobile website has further narrowed or blurred into unrecognizable boundaries.
The new concept in mobile web designing nowadays uses UI patterns which give a native feeling to a webpage. While designing a mobile website, special attention is required not only in the design part but also keeping in mind the functionality. Easy navigation and good user experience are the key areas that should be focused for a good responsive design. Let's talk about a few unheard of mobile web design techniques for creating an exclusive website. These 5 techniques are the ones which are often ignored by web designers.
1. Providing Pinch to zoom feature:
Users visiting your mobile website can be finicky about choosing products for themselves. They need to find out everything they can about the product before ordering or purchasing it. Users like to zoom into the product picture to read the product details. A pinch to zoom feature enables them to do that, just like they do it in an app. After all reading the fine print is also important.
2. Using an image carousel slideshow:
Image carousels provide a dynamic element to your mobile phone website. If you are using a gallery of images, it becomes important to create a slideshow of all the images to allow users to look at all your images without having to tap or touch the screen. jQuery plugins are the perfect tools for creating an image carousel slider for your images.
3. Creating off-canvas fly outs:
Off-canvas fly outs containing dynamic content have become a standard feature in many desktop websites these days. These fly outs remain outside the domain of the mobile phone screen until a user taps the screen to display the fly out.These fly outs can also be seen in many web as well as native apps too. Although these fly outs also provide other usages like hiding menus and static content on a website, but it is better to use them for displaying dynamic or static content.
4. Alphabetical Indexes:
All your web content including topics, items etc. should be indexed in alphabetical order only. This is one design feature which creates a user-friendly experience for the visitor. It is easy to reach the desired item if all indexes are in alphabetical order. These alphabetical indexes provide a native app like look to your mobile website.
5. Upgrade to Material design:
There is no end to Innovation when it comes to web designing technology. The flat design for websites was being used for the past two years, but recently Google has come out with its new Material design concept. This Material design concept is an up-gradation to the flat design concept in terms of layering, gradients etc. Physical object and space are its main attribute. It is well expected that the Material design shall be the dominating design for mobile websites in the year 2015.
While incorporating these design ideas in a mobile website, a web designer should keep in mind the limitations that a few mobile devices offer. Processor speeds, memory and screen resolution should be kept in mind before going all out. The goal should be to create a good design which is also capable of performing optimally on all types of devices.