Unit 5 - Mobile Web Development (WAD)
1. Mobile-First Design
Definition: A design strategy that starts with designing for the smallest screens (mobile) first, then scales up
to larger devices.
Rationale: Smaller screens have space limitations; designing for them ensures only essential content is
prioritized.
Benefits: Forces simplicity, better focus on usability, and efficient content delivery.
2. What is Mobile Web?
Mobile Web: Accessing the internet via handheld mobile devices using browsers or apps.
Challenges: Smaller screens, standardization issues.
Solution: W3C's Mobile Web Initiative encourages standard mobile design.
Trend: Move toward building responsive sites that work on both desktop and mobile.
3. Differences Between Desktop and Mobile Applications
Screen Size:
- Desktop: Large screens; supports fixed navigation bars.
- Mobile: Smaller screens; uses minimalist design and hamburger menus.
Interaction:
- Desktop: Uses cursor interactions (hover, tooltips).
- Mobile: Uses gestures (tap, swipe, pinch, shake).
Content Organization:
- Desktop: Multi-column layouts.
- Mobile: Long scrolling and single-column layouts.
Orientation: Mobile apps adapt to both portrait and landscape orientations.
Functionality:
- Desktop: Suitable for long, complex tasks.
- Mobile: Great for short, quick tasks and experimental features like AR/VR.
4. Key Considerations for Mobile Design
Unit 5 - Mobile Web Development (WAD)
Screen size: Ensure responsiveness across devices.
Simple navigation: Big touch targets, minimal paths.
Large touch areas: Designed for thumbs.
Reduce clutter: Show only necessary content.
Display large text: Improves readability.
Use touch controls: Better than desktop controls.
Simple forms: Minimize typing.
Thumb Position: Design for thumb-friendly zones.
Consistent Experience: Ensure similar experience across platforms.
5. Finger-Friendly Mobile Design
Common gestures: Tap, double-tap, drag, pinch/spread, press, flick.
Button Placement: Important buttons in easy-to-reach areas to prevent mis-taps.
6. Content Optimization for Mobile
Typography: Clear fonts, spacing, avoid all-caps, short lines (30-40 chars).
Text Readability: 16px is a good mobile font size.
Layout: Avoid clutter.
7. jQuery Mobile
Why Use: Uniform behavior across devices, touch-friendly widgets, progressive enhancement.
Features: Built on jQuery Core, Ajax navigation, HTML5/CSS3 integration.
Advantages: Easy learning, cross-platform, custom themes, single codebase.
Disadvantages: Limited themes, slower on mobile, harder customization.
8. jQuery Mobile Installation
Download: From [Link] (custom or stable version).
CDN Links for HTML Head:
<link rel='stylesheet' href='[Link] />
Unit 5 - Mobile Web Development (WAD)
<script src='[Link]
<script src='[Link]
9. Example: jQuery Mobile Search Input
HTML form to create a search input field using jQuery Mobile.
10. Features of jQuery Mobile (Explained)
1. Simplicity: Minimal JS needed.
2. Progressive Enhancement: Works on all device types.
3. User-friendly Inputs: Styled form elements.
4. Accessibility: WAI-ARIA support.
5. Lightweight: ~40KB minified.
6. Theming: Theme customization with ThemeRoller.
7. Responsiveness: Same code fits all screens.
11. jQuery Basics
Purpose: Simplifies HTML, AJAX, and UI logic.
Features: DOM manipulation, animations, utilities, event handling, etc.
Advantages: Fast, cross-platform, supported by major companies (Google, Microsoft, Netflix).
