Regular visitors to this blog (which posts less regularly than you deserve) will have noticed I change designs regularly. Normally I choose a design that intrigues me or that might allow me to experiment with something new. However, this doesn’t always help you, the real “customer” of this blog.
A New Direction for the Blog Design
After reviewing the visitor statistics, I’ve settled on this as the new look, and I don’t plan on changing it for a while. The main advantage of this new design is its suitability for both traditional browsers and mobile devices like smartphones. It looks good on a normal browser and a mobile-sized screen, with easily identifiable areas for the now-common double-tap-to-zoom gesture.
Why Not Use a “Mobile-First” Theme?
You might wonder why I haven’t opted for a truly mobile-optimized theme—the kind that transforms a site into simple rectangles that expand as you interact (like Wikipedia on your phone). The answer is simple: I hate them.
Part of the point of a website is to show people content creatively. The standard approach to making sites suitable for smartphones seems to be stripping away everything distinctive and interesting. With today’s relatively generous bandwidth limits and 4G networks on the horizon, I believe the internet should be used as originally intended—as a medium for rich, engaging experiences.
The Exception: Online Payments
There is one exception to my anti-minimalist stance—online payments. They’re a nightmare on a normal site and extremely painful on a mobile device. If we want people to interact outside of app stores, we really need to improve this aspect of the mobile web. So far, Amazon seems to be the only online retailer where repeated purchases are genuinely convenient on mobile devices.
Fortunately for me, I don’t need to take payments—unless you think I deserve compensation for this sporadic essay writing!
The iPad Paradox
After a couple of weeks of using an iPad, I’ve noticed another issue: many mobile sites serve a dumbed-down, washed-out experience to iPad users. This makes little sense because the iPad is not a phone—it actually has better screen resolution than many laptops and even some high-end desktop monitors.
This means iPad users should ideally see your site as originally intended, not a stripped-down mobile version. The only website elements that really don’t work well on iPads are sliders, and even they can be made functional with some adjustments. In many ways, the iPad represents where mobile devices are heading, not where they currently are.
The Future of Mobile Screens
I believe small screens are only a temporary phase in technology evolution. Five years ago, no one really thought we’d move beyond the maximum 320×240 pixel screens that were standard at the time. Yet here we are with smartphones featuring resolutions that rival laptops.
With projects like Google’s Augmented Reality glasses potentially becoming available to consumers, screen real estate will expand to these new form factors. Flexible displays are also getting closer to mainstream adoption, which will allow users to physically expand displays beyond their default sizes.
Already, you can send your smartphone screen to a TV or other devices—this functionality may become the default way of viewing content, with the smaller screen used only when truly mobile (which is not when most phones are currently used).
Conclusion
While mobile optimization is important, I believe we shouldn’t sacrifice creativity and engaging design just to accommodate the smallest screens. As technology evolves, our approach to mobile design should balance usability with the rich experience that makes the web unique.
That’s my opinion made public—read it and ignore at your peril!
