Once a clunky and inefficient form of online connectivity, mobiles today account for more than 58% of all internet traffic. This change in user access has driven many websites and online services to retarget their design to smartphones and tablets as primary systems. This approach has allowed for mobile streamlined access, but it tends to be limited in scope.
The basic issue with how many businesses approach modern website design for mobiles is that they overwhelmingly target standard slate-style screens. Slate styles are the most popular, so this makes sense, but as more types of mobile access become popular, businesses need to extend their vision. By taking a more flexible approach to website design, companies can prepare themselves for the mobile displays of the future, to get ahead and ensure a more welcoming user experience.
“SAMSUNG Galaxy Fold Foldable Phone” (CC BY-ND 2.0) by TheBetterDay
Understanding Design Needs
Changing the design and layout of a website to account for future developments in the mobile space can be a challenging process because of individual variation and the requirements each page produces. A simple text page might be easy to translate onto different systems, but most websites today don’t offer such traditional and outdated web interaction.
For example, consider the different features and options available on daily jackpot online casino pages. These pages feature a broad range of titles like Mayan Eagle and Hyper Gold, and each needs to be easily identifiable no matter screen size. Buttons here also need to be visible and navigable, no matter which form of access is used. This page relays an enormous amount of useful information for players on desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets, so its design requires clear consistency and usability. Each website will have its own version of these requirements, and each needs to be understood before changes are made.
Probable Future Targets
Before you can make changes to your web pages, you need to know the potential forms of access future users will engage with. The two most imminent platforms businesses will likely contend with come from the increasing number of folding phones, and the potential for later adaptions of augmented reality access.
Folding phones will change access by offering a variety of modes and aspect ratios that need to be catered to. A Galaxy Z Fold 4, for example, has a cover display, a main display, a split screen app mode, and a 16:9 app mode. Each of these will need to be tested, while designs will also need to account for future trifold device requirements with upcoming generations of systems.
Augmented reality glasses as mobile browsers are far less common, but steps have already been made with devices like Apple’s Vision Pro. The important point here comes from how there isn’t one set display aspect ratio to engage with, as each browser window can be set in many different sizes depending on what the user is doing. To cater to the challenges this represents, each webpage needs to be tested in a wide range of arbitrary resolutions and sizes, to ensure as many possibilities as covered as is reasonable.
“SZ1_3421” (CC BY 2.0) by websummitqatar
While there’s no way to predict all future needs and design pages for everyone, by taking a proactive approach, you can cover most bases. This effort might not pay off right away, but it will put your business in a better place in the future, as you invest in what will only become more popular forms of access. The sooner you commit, the sooner you’ll acquire the skillset and the better place you’ll find yourself for the internet of tomorrow.
