1. Optimising sites for mobile
TIPS FOR MOBILE AND CROSS-DEVICE WEB DEVELOPMENT
Patrick H. Lauke / Droidcon / Berlin / 4 November 2009

2. web evangelist at Opera

3. Opera – one browser on many devices

4. Mobile web is an uneven landscape:
● Full Web (Android Browser, Opera Mobile, …)
● Constrained browsers – WAP, limited
standards support, proprietary markup
● Proxy-based (Opera Mini, …)
● Games consoles / portables

5. Mobile capabilities also vary:
● Screen size
● Input mechanism – touch, keypad, other?
● Memory and processing power
● Colour palettes
● Native font
● Connection speed / quality

6. One Web means making, as far as is reasonable, the
same information and services available to users
irrespective of the device they are using. However, it does
not mean that exactly the same information is available in
exactly the same representation across all devices.
W3C Mobile Web Best Practices http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/#OneWeb

7. Approaches to mobile web development:
● Do nothing – use standards, defensive design
● Separate site (m.mysite.com, mysite.mobi)
● Single site, but optimised for cross-device

8. Server-side detection of mobile:
● “Browser sniffing” the User Agent string
Opera/9.80 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/5.0.2056/866; U; en) Presto/2.2
● When pattern matching can go wrong...
● Offer users a way back (example of Orkut)

9. Client-side detection of mobile:
● “Browser sniffing” the User Agent string again
● “Capability sniffing” reliant on JavaScript
● CSS 2.1 Media Types
●
CSS 3 Media Queries

10. CSS 2.1 Media Types:
● Print, screen, handheld, projection, tv, …
● Partially supported
● Lump all devices into single categories
http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/media.html

11. CSS 2.1 Media Types:
<link rel="stylesheet" ...
media="print, handheld" href="...">
@import url("...") print;
@media print {
// insert CSS rules here
}

12. CSS 3 Media Queries:
● Build and extend CSS 2.1 Media Types
● More granular control of capabilities
● width, height, orientation, color, resolution, …
http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-mediaqueries/

13. CSS 3 Media Queries:
@media screen and
(max-device-width: 480px) {
// insert CSS rules here
}
Demonstration of Media Queries

14. CSS 3 Media Queries and SVG:
● SVG already resolution independent
● Ideal for device interfaces, maps, graphs, …
● Combination with CSS 3 Media Queries
Demonstration of Media Queries + SVG

15. SVG in OBJECT, CSS and IMG element*
native inclusion in HTML5?
*only in Opera at the moment

16. And beyond that?
● Mobile Web Best Practices
● Mobile Web Applications Best Practices
http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/
http://www.w3.org/TR/mwabp/

17. Crossover with accessibility:
● accessibility = extreme usability?
● deaf/blind/colourblind/mobility impaired
● Mobile Web Best Practices vs WCAG 2.0
http://www.w3.org/TR/mwbp-wcag/

18. call to arms action

19. www.opera.com/developer
patrick.lauke@opera.com