Accommodating Handheld Users

As the world becomes digitized, the variety of "computers" also expands. For example, there are now many handheld devices, such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and cellphones, that include not only a web connection but also a web browser. If you think that your users may frequently use a handheld device to access your site, then you should make your site "handheld-friendly."

The biggest challenge for handheld users is the size of their display screen. Currently, 320 pixels would be considered a large screen, while most desktop and laptop computers have a minimum of 800 pixels in width, and many have considerably higher resolutions. Therefore, if your web site is designed for desktop screen resolutions, it may be difficult for handheld users to view your site. Another challenge for handheld users is the extensive use of graphics on a web site, which can be both slow to load and take up a lot of their limited display area.

However, with the clever use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), a web design can incorporate the modifications necessary to accommodate handheld users without having a completely separate site, or duplicate pages for them. CSS specifications can eliminate the graphic headers and navigation commonly used, while inserting text navigation on the page only when it is viewed by a handheld device. If you have a handheld with a browser, just access our site to see how this works. If you don't have one to try, we've included a few pictures of our site on a Palm Pilot.