Mobile web connectivity is wonderfully liberating, but like any technology in relative infancy, its limitations can be frustrating. Imagine the scene. You’re in a cab on the way to an important meeting. You know the client’s office is just off Regent Street, but which end? So you check the company’s website on your BlackBerry. Except you can’t find their contact details, never mind download a map. And if you could it would look like an ant’s maze. Now the cabbie’s lost, so you take up the chase on foot. But your heart sinks when the shop numbers are odd not even and in single figures not three. The block you want is at the Piccadilly end, not the Oxford Circus end. Now you’re late, hot and flustered. If it wasn’t for your New Year’s resolution to single-handedly save the Amazon you would have printed one off in the office. Damn the environment! Damn technology!

Exact figures for mobile internet usage are hard to come by, and they are changing all the time. However, in 2008 a report from Continental Research claimed there were approximately 7.5 million mobile internet users in the UK. This is already a significant number, and as the technology - wireless connection, screen size and quality, browser-based software etc – improves, those using their phones to access the web, watch videos/TV, and listen to music will only increase. So are those involved in web development, from marketing managers to agency designers, prepared for this move to a ‘micro’ world? Of course, micro will not replace macro, but it is becoming a viable user need, and should be addressed.

One major law firm, Wragge & Co, has recently launched a mobile version of its website – www.wragge.mobi. This is a significant development in a sector that too often regards technology with suspicion. When I ‘test drove’ the site on my mobile with the above example in mind, I found the site to be highly usable. It was quick to download, easy to navigate, concise, and content had been prioritised according to the special demands of portable web access. I found Wragge’s contact details in no time, and managed to download a map which showed the exact location of the London office. I arrived at my fictional meeting calm and on time. Top marks to Wragge.

Conversely, I tried a couple of other major law firms on the same mobile and had great difficulty simply finding their contact details, let alone downloading a map. The websites swamped the screen and there were problems downloading all the content. I was left frustrated and with a rapidly escalating fictional cab fare.

While this example is designed to illustrate a point, there are serious issues surrounding the incompatibility of mobile access and websites stacked high with features and design gizmos. Though technology has added significantly to online capability and made websites highly interactive, the constraints of accessing the web on the move devalue this functionality. In this case, one size definitely does not fit all devices. When it comes to holding the web in your palm, businesses that want to service their clients properly must plan ahead, and either adapt their current sites for smaller screens, or develop special sites for mobile access. Don’t give potential clients – even if they are disorganised – an excuse to get lost…literally.

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