An experience I believe can benefit everyone who holds the web at heart. _{(This is not a preaching sermon - just read it for what it is)}

I took the day off to locate a company that handles prometric exams. Their location was stated on their website, but going somewhere for the first time always poses a challenge. On getting there, I whipped out my phone to call the company for further directions.

To my dismay, poor network connection (between mine and that of the company), so i can't get through. I needed to try another number, and i wasn't with my laptop to check their site for it. That's when the idea to browse the company's website via my phone comes to mind. Brilliant! I should be able to get the second number and call them. Problem solved.

And that's where the problem starts,

First of all, I disabled loading images (Saves cost) on my phone browser, so what usually happens when you enter a site designed with Firework tables? Other than HTML text, you get NOTHING. The navigation text were images with NO alternate text, So I couldn't use the navigation on the site to point me to the contact detail page.

After trial and error (and some extra charge) I find what I'm looking for. But it doesn't have to be this way. We live in a time where people who can't find what they are looking for in one place will find it elsewhere. Too many options. We want information, and we want it now. An increasing number of such people won't be using desktops, but mobiles. My experience is just one of the thousands that I believe happen everyday. who doesn't access facebook mobile?

Recommendation? Use <LI> tags to define your navigation. Even if images are disabled it'll still show the text as a link. Alternate text for images is a must too. It's simple and we all know it, but it would have made one major difference for me today if the webmaster behind the site had mobile browsers in mind. With more web enabled phone we should strive to make our sites more mobile friendly (and for the record, I'm guilty as well, though to a lesser extent)

PS: Again, read it as it is, not who's saying it.

yep, as i have always told fellow developers, you don't have to surf a site with a mobile device to see what it will look like. Just download FF and the web developer toolkit, then disable styles and you will see how it renders.

Sometimes, when I tell people that it took me 3 weeks to do a site that they say takes them 3 hours, and get laughed at, they surprisingly never ask me why it takes that long - it is because I actually take my time to do certain things, be it applying alt and title tags, debugging in general, testing across multiple browsers, etc.

There is also a monetary aspect to this. This probably doesn't apply to Nigeria but it will one day, at which time, you will be glad you coded your site with web standards in mind in advance - in some countries, you could get sued for millions if people with disabilities can't use your site. Even if you aren't sued, remember, perfectly healthy humans aren't your only revenue target. You want to get money even from the blind person.

At the end of the day, you really want to make your website accessible to as many people as possible.

Excellent post!

I agree with you on that yawatide. But you must also consider the naija factor (which are plenty).
Sometimes with the client seriously on my next, i just do quick rubbish job, i mean like forms without
client/server sided validation (with zero security), and quickly deliver the job before them arrest me.
Sometimes sef, due to the time constraint, i just quickly download one template, wordpress or whatever
and quickly do the job, and submit it on time. It is only in very rare instances that i am allowed to apply
the proper web standards that we preach here all the time.

But that notstanding, some many people here in 9ja do rubbish that totally shames our web standards
and the clients too collect those rubbish and pay them for it. One of our webmasters here is still running from
the long arm of the law at the moment for doing rubbish and running away (because he does not know how to
correct it - and he don spend money finish).

I agree with you on that yawatide. But you must also consider the naija factor

You can't agree and disagree at the same time. No offense, but IMHO if you can't take the time to do what is good, naija or no naija factor, it shows a sense of (programmer) immaturity.

Take the time to do what is right. It's that simple. It doesn't take but a few seconds to add, in this case, alt text or title text.

I agree with the poster. However, with all due respect you can set up a complete mobile website in a day or two. The high level of efficiency and speed that one has should not be used against the person when making our points.

You can become very fast and efficient in doing something just by doing that thing over and over again. So, that Mr A takes 3 days to do what Mr B takes 20 days to do should not mean that Mr A doesn't know what he is doing.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://justwebservices.com/mobile/index.php

Mobile Solutions Overview

It is a fact that we have over 15 mobile phones for every computer whether desktop or laptop in the world. The ratio will be more like 1000 mobile phones for every computer in Nigeria.

It is also true that for many people even in the rural villages the mobile phone may be the closest they will come as regards using a computer. So, why stop at developing websites for a limited number of people who may need to be in front of their computers or laptops when you can make the same information available to everyone that has a mobile phone and there are indeed many of them.

What does it take to develop your own mobile website that could be accessed via a mobile phone? Not much really. Content, pictures, money and in a matter of days anyone with a mobile phone in the whole world can view your website even if they do not have computers or internet access.

All that is required is a mobile phone with GPRS capability.

Point your mobile phone browser to
Just Web Services Mobile version - http://jwsmobile.com
Just Alternative Power Mobile version - http://japmobile.com
Afam's blog Mobile version - http://afamnnaji.com/mobi
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++