Best Practices for E-Commerce
When implementing online content for mobile users, do not seek to replicate the experience of a browser on a desktop computer. Instead, concentrate on the content and features that your mobile users with generally low-bandwidth connections are likely to use the most. The following recommendations can help you build an effective e-commerce site:
- Personalization pages. Personalization of content has had a dramatic impact on the way people use the Web. Allowing users to choose the content that they want to include on their pages from your Web site greatly enhances your visitors' experiences. It is likely that you already offer this feature on your Web site. Common uses include a portfolio of stocks or a table of cities for basic weather information.
- Advertisements. Although advertisements have become an expected presence on the Web, not all advertising translates well to Internet Explorer Mobile. Many advertisements are large and require significant download time. Furthermore, pop-up advertisements do not work in Internet Explorer Mobile. Be frugal with your use of advertisements, and make sure that any nuisance or frustration for the user does not outweigh the value of your Web site.
- Page header. A Western reader's eye tends to move from the upper-left corner of a screen to the lower-right corner. Therefore, when targeting a Western audience, you should place the most important information, such as a heading or a company icon, in the upper-left corner. Place all the relevant information and links toward the bottom of the page.
- Design forms with a 229-pixel width in mind. The maximum width of a Internet Explorer Mobile page should be 229 pixels. Form elements like <INPUT TYPE="TEXT"> or <INPUT TYPE="BUTTON"> are not shrunk by the Default menu option of Internet Explorer Mobile and are never rendered wider than the width of the screen. Place the input controls in separate lines instead of horizontally. For your e-commerce customers, it is especially annoying to have to scroll horizontally to enter credit card information or to use your shopping cart. Also, limit your fields to the small screen area. If you want to show a picture of the product selected by the customer, put the description below the picture, not next to it.
See Also
Best Practices for Information Sites | HTML Reference for Internet Explorer Mobile | Mobile Web Site Design Overview | Internet Explorer Mobile Overview
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