Mobile Web Development Versus Desktop Web Development - Essay Example

MOBILE WEB DEVELOPMENT VERSUS DESKTOP WEB DEVELOPMENT Mobile web development versus desktop web development Affiliation Table ofContents Type of users 3 User environment 4 Screen sizes 4 Memory available 5 Orientation 5 Input devices 6 Multi-tasking 6 Technology available 6 Future challenges 7 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction In the last year approximately 63 million people in the US accessed the Internet using a mobile and PDA systems. It is expected that by 2013 there will be more than 1.7 billion users of the mobile Internet globally. Hence, keeping in mind these figures it is very important that web developers and designers study and implement best design and development practices for mobile devices. In fact, in order to learn strategies and development techniques for mobile web development we would not need to learn something new. However, we will need to look at website design in an innovative way, one that is definitely more limiting as compared to the design of normal website browsers. In addition, to deal with this kind of issues that occur in mobile website design, and to get results that are as helpful and user-friendly as our normal website, a number of innovative problem-solving skills are necessary (Chapman, 2010; Cameronmoll, 2008; Smashing Editorial, 2012). Moreover, both the mobile web development and desktop web development appear to be a little bit different areas however the technology, skills and development ideas required for these both areas of development appear to be similar. This report outlines the similarities and differences between these two types of web development. This report will discuss these areas with respect to a number of factors. Type of users A survey on a mobile technology usage showed that the mobile users till 2009 have increased to 3 billion all through the world. Without a doubt, the Internet usage on mobile devices is gradually rising. Additionally, these days we can see a number of types of users who use different kinds of mobile devices. In addition, in the majority of mobile internet users we see people who are interested in social networks, news feeds and entertainment. On the other hand, desktop web users are a little bit higher. Also, these users can be of any age and any gender. In this scenario, they use desktop web systems for carrying out a wide variety of tasks (Chapman, 2010; Cameronmoll, 2008; Smashing Editorial, 2012). User environment The mobile web environment is extremely aligned to content, context, and component specific atmosphere. Alternatively, access to web based data and contents on a mobile device is mostly affected by surrounding circumstances, or simply the informational significance of the job that we currently have, and the future potential of the systems being utilized. As compared to the desktop web experience, where we have a widescreen space, we also have much higher speed of web access that is much more reliable. The data input into desktop web systems is also very fast due to the usage of mouse and keyboard. On the other hand, the mobile web usage is frequently limited to a small mobile screen, one-handed experience and irregular interaction. In addition, it can be significantly assessed that desktop web systems and mobile web systems are very much different in user environments. Moreover, the mobile web systems are restricted and slow while desktop systems are much wider and reliable systems (Chapman, 2010; Cameronmoll, 2008; Smashing Editorial, 2012). Screen sizes Some of the common resolutions for standard cell phones comprise 101× 80 pixels to 320×480 pixel screen. In other words, this screen size of mobile web development is very limited. Hence, we have to put all information and data in this limited area. On the other hand, the desktop web development provides very much freedom while designing these systems. In addition, mobile web creates need to put a lot of effort to design systems in a way that they can offer a great deal of user support and capability for placement of information in such a small area (Chapman, 2010; Cameronmoll, 2008; Smashing Editorial, 2012). Memory available Availability of memory is also one of the major restrictions on mobile web based development. Due to the limited size and nature of primary and secondary memory mobile web developers need to design and develop websites in a way that they could ensure small load on normal web usage. These aspects make the overall development of system very much restricted. On the other hand desktop web development is more open, wider and restriction free (Markus, 2012; Mozilla Developer Network, 2012). Orientation In case of mobile web development orientation by itself basically entails the proportions of the web browser window, which allows us to allocate diverse characteristics to “landscape” and “portrait” style using CSS media queries. Additionally, in mobile web design and development: developers need to take care of some of the important aspects regarding change in orientation of mobile systems. In this scenario, the system should be adjusted according to the changes in mobile orientation. It involves the change in overall resolution of website. On the other hand desktop web development systems are free from the horizontal and vertical change in resolution and got a great deal of freedom in system development. Moreover, these changes in orientation of mobile screen can cause a number of issues regarding mobile web development (Markus, 2012; Mozilla Developer Network, 2012). Input devices The methods of input in mobile and desktop web based systems are very much different. In this scenario, the mobile web developers need to take care for a number of aspects while choosing input methods. In addition, the majority of developers of mobile website require presenting a lower input burden on user regarding lower flexibility of keypad or touch screen. On the other hand, traditional desktop web based systems are free and open for input through mouse and keyboard (Markus, 2012; Mozilla Developer Network, 2012). Multi-tasking New iPhone, Samsung, HTC, Nokia and other well-known company’s mobiles are offering a great deal of multitasking support as compared to the present technology based systems. This multitasking support is open and supportive in desktop web based system development. In this scenario, the mobile web developers have to pay a great deal of attention on managing application size, resolution and handling with respect to system processing and memory limitations (Chapman, 2010; Cameronmoll, 2008; Smashing Editorial, 2012). Technology available In case of mobile web development we have Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology based protocol for facilitating mobile access to web data and information. Now with the emergence of XHTML Mobile Profile (XHTML-MP) and WAP 2.0 we normally prefer to choose markup language, with authorizations backwards potentials for WML. On the other hand, for the desktop web development we have a large number of advanced programming languages. We also have a new era of WEB 2.0 that offers a great deal of interactive web communication and collaboration (Chapman, 2010; Cameronmoll, 2008; Smashing Editorial, 2012). Future challenges With the passage of time, the number of mobile web users is also increasing, hence we can face a wide variety of security and privacy related concerns in future. In future we can expect a number of security and privacy related issues those can hinder in successful implementation, access and usage of web based platforms through the mobile systems. On the other hand, in case of desktop web based development future challenge is the management of abundant information. The accuracy and reliability of information available is one of the major concerns in future web based information search. Conclusion At the present, almost all the people use mobile phones for different purposes. In other words, to a certain extent mobile phones are taking the place of Personal Computers (PCs). The majority of people use a mobile phone to access the Internet (especially for social networks). This report has discussed some of the important aspects in context of “Mobile web development versus desktop web development”. This research has presented a comparative research on Mobile and Desktop web development. In this report I have assessed that mobile web development is restrictive and difficult to manage. On the other hand desktop web development is open, reliable and effective development area. References Cameronmoll. (2008). A Beginners Guide to Mobile Web Development. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from http://mobiforge.com/starting/story/a-beginners-guide-mobile-web-development Chapman, C. (2010, February 09). Mobile Web Design: Tips and Best Practices. Retrieved September 24, 2012, from http://www.noupe.com/how-tos/mobile-web-design-tips-and-best-practices.html Markus, Z. (2012, March 28). Using Orientation on Your Mobile Sites. Retrieved September 19, 2012, from http://buildmobile.com/how-to-use-orientation-on-your-mobile-sites/ Mozilla Developer Network. (2012, September 03). Mobile Web Development. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from https://developer.mozilla.org/id/docs/Mobile/Mobile_Web_Development Smashing Editorial. (2012, July 02). Guidelines For Mobile Web Development. Retrieved September 24, 2012, from http://www.smashingmagazine.com/guidelines-for-mobile-web-development/ Read More