How to Design Your Website with Mobile Users and ESL Students in Mind

With smart phones in the market and internet option as the most preferred feature among the mobile users, it is important to design the website keeping these users in mind. The ESL students look for the information related to books, quizzes, online dictionaries, grammar exercises and the likes on different websites. To ensure that these users visit your site regularly, make sure that the website design is flexible enough. Choose among solid, liquid or suspension layout.

Choose a URL address if you plan to have a mobile version of your site. For this you can create a folder in the root of the site or you can add custom sub domain for the mobile link.

Next, create the redirect script for the mobile device. Plan the layout of the website. You can choose among the default, one column and desktop form of layout. The default type narrows down the width of the content. This reduces the horizontal scrolls. On the other hand the one column fits the content in a single column which makes browsing easy on the mobile. The one column layout is the most popular type.

The solid layout design is displayed in the same way on different computer screens. This is because this design is measured in pixels rather than percentage. The liquid design is measured in percentage. The suspension layout is a combination of the two types and is considered as the best form. Choose one among the three forms.

Add the search field in the header of the website so that the mobile users and ESL students find the options quickly. Always keep the font size small so that the page appears neat and organized, but large enough so that the content is easy to read. Keep the length of the page small. If you cannot avoid it then use the intra page links that help the user to navigate to the top of the page.

The website should provide easy navigation facility. Make sure that the size of the page is not large and the page is easy to download. Keep the website simple. Use graphics to add value to the site but avoid using too much of it. Limit the use of the latest technology as it requires additional plug-ins which the mobile users generally avoid.

Develop an interesting and precise content which deliver all the information to the browsers. Ensure that the site is updated regularly so that the users get the latest information.