A couple of weeks ago Steve Jobs died. When he stepped down as CEO of Apple over the Summer it was clear that he was losing his fight with cancer although I don't think anyone expected it to be so quick.

There have been some excellent pieces posted by more eloquent writers than I so I will leave it to them to celebrate his life and achievements. Personally I have enjoyed re-watching some of his speeches (notably Stanford Commencement in 2005 and his 1997 keynote where he effectively illustrated the technical landscape of 2011) and if you have a moment I would suggest you do as well.

So I did want to write something on this and was chatting to Luke about what was at the heart of Apple's renaissance in the late 90s, domination of the last decade and how I could look at applying those principles to the projects we work on for ourselves and for our clients.

I bounced around some themes on single mindedness, design as first principle, sweating the small stuff, but as usual, Luke nailed it.

He reminded me that the first release of a new Apple product line rejects the status quo and solves a single problem, in a simple way.

The design may often be revolutionary but when you look at it, the feature set is usually pretty limited. But we don't mind, because the concept is so getable and enlightening that we are happy to be taken on the journey as the product evolves. We get on board through glorious simplicity and the liberating notion that we don't have to accept the way things are.

Let's take a closer look at some examples.

The iMac

The iMac was the first all-in-one computer on the market. It challenged the principle that a computer was a sum of various parts, peripherals and accessories. The visual screen, the ability to hear sound and the computer processor are themselves symbiotically linked so why not unify them into a single machine? The internet was clearly the future so a modem was included, it was not considered an optional extra.

Recognising the need for industry standards and compatibility the iMac was the first computer to solely adopt USB ports for connectivity. Controversially they removed the floppy disk favouring the CD Rom (built-in, of course). They correctly argued that recordable CDs, the internet, and office networks were making them obsolete.

Finally the iMac looked completely different. It was beautiful, with it's translucent plastics and Bondi Blue trim. It was time for computers to take their place at the heart of the home, not to be hidden away on retractable desks in the box room. It changed the way we felt about them.

The iPod

The iPod was certainly another iconic design but it was definitely limited. Effectively the iPod was a hard drive with an action wheel, 5 buttons and a single tone screen. But it was the quickest and easiest way to browse your library of music on a handheld device.

They got the interface and hierarchy absolutely right from the beginning and have hardly changed it since. Other mp3 players of the time had inherited the buttons and small displays of the portable CD player and were taking users on a familiar journey without challenging it.

The iPhone

Look at the home screen of the first iPhone. No App Store. So you couldn't add any apps beyond the native ones such as web, email, camera, notes, maps, calendar etc. But looking at the interface doesn't it seem bare? There was obviously room for more but at the time they said that the web gateway was the platform for any additional stuff.

It meant they didn't have to worry about the complex eco system for the app store and could focus on disrupting the mobile phone market and changing our perceptions of what a mobile phone was actually for.

The interesting side product was that developers reverse engineered the iPhone to personalise it and add their own work. They built a way of working around it because they liked the product and saw it had a massive future. I'm absolutely convinced that those early jail breakers helped Apple to roadmap the marketplace when they were ready to open it up.

Was it just Apple?

I think it would be wrong to suggest that Apple are the only company to have got this concept of first version simplicity right. The Amazon Kindle obtusely focussed on the reading experience and then iterated to perfect that before adding anything more.

I would argue that early days Nokia were the same. They reduced physical phone size and increased battery life. My Mum still loves her old Nokia because it does exactly what she wants it to.

Google's home page is just a search field.

Conclusion

By not doing the expected you can ultimately end up with a greater solution. By stripping back the acceptable functions of today you leave room for innovation in the future and greatly increase the chances of solving your focal problem better than anyone else.

I would like to invite every client we work with (and my own team) to embrace this concept together and be brave and bold enough to try and do this on our own work. I'm pleased to say this principle is deep rooted in our latest product - Schedule.

Apple saw where they wanted us to be back in the 1970s and have been slowly dragging us there ever since. Thank you, Steve, I will leave the last words with you.

"When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions. Most people just don’t put in the time or energy to get there."

Steve Jobs in an MSNBC and Newsweek interview, 14 October 2006.

As a creative in a medium-sized digital agency, I often find myself juggling five different projects at a time. It demands concentration, finesse and a great playlist (I recommend Yuksek). I appreciate these moments, they create adrenaline and are hugely motivating.

When a big wave of work passes, and all the designs have been sent, it's suddenly a lot calmer at my desk. I call it the “waiting for feedback” period, or the “in between” stage. It can be great, but as someone who thrives on pressure, I don’t like sitting there with nothing to do. So I’ve come up with a list of things I do, that you may find useful.

You'll thank yourself later

Your personal library
When it’s hectic, you need things quick: photos, icons, buttons. Looking for them on a website, designing them, or picking them from another file costs precious time that you could be using more productively. So I bring them all together on the same PSD. Having everything together in the same place means no mucking around. Organise it like a pro and name all the layers. Doing this from the offset means you won't have to re-name each one of them on your final design... and we all know that’s a pain.

Be consistent with guidelines
Having all sorts of raspberry shaded colours for your links, or 5 different sized fonts, all fighting for their supremacy within your design, is always going to start looking like a dog’s dinner in no time. Templaters will be pulling their hair out on the development side if you present them with something inconsistent. So I create guidelines. A base on a photoshop file with the HTML colour codes, the font used, and the size for title, subtitle and content. Being as precise as possible, I use it for each of my projects instead of creating a new one. Then all I have to do is pick up elements as and when I need them.

Look forward

Wave your “availability flag”
When I’m not 100% work mad and I’ve finished my projects, I happily let my mind wander. This is the time to go for a walk around the office, wave your availability flag and be nosy. Designer mates might need help. Project managers may bring some new insight on future projects; or your boss might have some news on upcoming pitches.

Discover what's going on around you
Being up to date with what’s going on in the agency isn’t everything, it’s also really important to know what's happening outside the office in the fields of design, gadgets and informatics. Everything evolves so quickly in the digital world and technology is developing constantly. It's important to know what you are talking about and what is, and isn’t possible.

If I get any down time, I go hunting through my “Must read this!” bookmarks. Mashable, Smashing, and many other art/digital magazines are on the list. Igoogle normally has some tasty news. Thinking about what’s going on outside your immediate environment can pay dividends, Tmobile did this brilliantly with their adaptation of the Royal Wedding (around 23 million views) http://www.youtube.com/user/lifesforsharing?ob=5.

Hang around on your favourite design blogs and refresh your mind. Check out your competitors’ websites. And my personal favourite: awards websites. I'm always amazed by some ideas and it helps me think deeper and forget about boundaries. I am the design eyes of the agency; so if I find something great, I like to share it.

Open your mind, observe and learn

Watch out for great exhibitions
Plan your weekend. I am a pro when it comes to last minute planned weekends. Time Out London, Spoonfed and other websites are packed full of arty days outs. British people, you don't know how lucky you are being able to step in a museum for free. I had to pay a fortune back in France to access Beaubourg, le Louvres and le Musée de l'Orangerie, even with my Art student card! So now I visit exhibitions as often as I can: pop into galleries and practice street photography with my old Olympus. It teaches me to think about my shots and act with my mind rather than my finger. There is always a book shop on the way treasuring interesting books about Design, Art and Digital. Things you've seen, photos you’ve taken, people you've talked to, places you've discovered will all inspire you.

Ask Techies
I’ve never understood the distinction between designers and techies: after all we all do both, it’s just that my specialism is in the look and feel and theirs is in the build. Designers have to be technically aware and techies need to be creative - or at least they do in the world of digital. So, if I have an idea, however outlandish… I find picking a developer’s brain can pay dividends.

Back on the bench
In design, you need to be proficient in several softwares: Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects... and their versions evolves all the time. There are always new shortcuts, new actions, new filters... if watching tutorials is not enough it's time for a course. Constructively use some of your free time to look out for interesting courses to improve your current skills, or help develop new ones. Photography is great for being able to master all sides of a photo shoot. Yoga or strategy courses to calm yourself, focus, and inspire your inner temple. Anything that helps you discover the unknown, gives you added value and helps you enjoy life.

Projects immersion
Finally, one of my multimedia professors told us once to be passionate about your projects. That was one of his main criticisms, you must be able to understand the subject fully and you must produce a piece of design in complete symbiosis with its purpose, respecting its target. To illustrate his point he told us about a salsa website he was working on that made him end up in a ... salsa class (if you saw him you’d find that hard to believe). Anyway, I’m waiting for a luxury spa project.

So, immerse yourself in your project, become the target, read books and magazines around a subject, think about it all the time, become a geek.

Or... write an article and enjoy your downtime, however fleeting it may be.

The way we browse the Web has changed. People no longer only use desktops or laptop computers: they consume the Web through a multitude of mobile devices, sporting all kinds of screen shapes and resolutions.

The traditional fixed-width layout doesn't really cut it anymore. People expect to be able to view sites on their phones just like they do on their desktop computer. Sites need to adapt to these different browsers and screen resolutions. But what's the right way to do it?

The common response has been for sites to provide a mobile version as a nice little "extra". That's good, but it doesn't always mean the site will display nicely on an iPad or non-iOS mobile devices. This also often means developers will have to maintain two distinct websites, with their own sets of content.

Unfortunately, this doesn't scale well, and it restricts access to the content to only a few selected devices.

The better way to do it is with what we call Responsive Web Design.

The idea behind Responsive Web Design is that the websites' layout and design should adapt to fit any device that chooses to display it.

As Ethan Marcotte explains, "Rather than tailoring disconnected designs to each of an ever-increasing number of web devices, we can treat them as facets of the same experience. We can design for an optimal viewing experience, but embed standards-based technologies into our designs to make them not only more flexible, but more adaptive to the media that renders them."

This is why last week, codegent released a revamped, responsive and mobile-friendly website for our Learn Apps. The site is still a work in progress (there's a few things that need to be ironed out), but we think it's good enough to take a little tour today!

Learn Apps homepage as seen on a desktop browser

The homepage adapting to smaller resolutions

Here's the effect in video

The Learn Thai page adapting to various resolutions

Some small details that make the difference:

• One website "code", working on a wide range of desktop as well as mobile browsers (including Safari Mobile, Firefox Mobile, Opera Mobile and Opera Mini)
• The header "Our Apps" dropdown is automatically replaced by a Select dropdown for ease of use on mobile devices (ie. works with touch screens devices as well as non-touch screens devices).
• The iPhone and iPod will see an iPhone 4 capture of the apps, while Android handsets should see captures from a Nexus S
• The Contact form uses the JavaScript library called "Chosen" to make it easier for users to find and select apps/devices, by replacing the default Select dropdown with a custom dropdown with auto-complete search (on desktop browsers)

We invite you to go through the website yourself: www.codegent.com/learnapps and have a play!

We are quite pleased with the results so far, and are thrilled to offer more "responsiveness" in future projects! Let us know what you think in the comments.

Since the global economy tanked in 2008 things have been pretty gloomy for most of us. Inflation is soaring, unemployment is high, credit has all but vanished and the debt-laden government is cutting at a faster rate than happy hour in Sweeney Todd’s. Not great. However in an effort to try and look on the brighter side of life I thought I would examine how these economic conditions have actually helped progress the digital industry.

1. User Centric Design

I have worked in digital since 2001 and in that time one of the most frequently frustrating experiences has been persuading people to design for their users, not themselves.

Design solutions should be based on a thorough understanding of the core target audience and clear business objectives that you wish to convert on. However I have spent many hours in meeting rooms trying to persuade decision makers not to commit design hari-kari by letting personal preference dictate the path we took. I have tried everything from blunt refusal to regaling the fable of Homer’s Car but could never seem to surmount the issue.

However, when market conditions are tough and budgets need to work hard you cannot afford to risk losing valuable eyeballs and custom because you prefer pink to blue. Briefs have always pertained to place the user first but we have noticed clients like Channel 4, BBC, The British Library, Pearson Education and others I cannot directly mention put increasing emphasis and budget on analytical research, user focus groups and thorough usability testing during the design phase.

It is very illuminating that when budgets need to work harder you see increased investment in a particular area. You might think the trend would be to “best guess” and cut corners but when you have to get results, you can’t afford to muck around on design.

2. Wider adoption of new ideas and trends

Similarly I have also noticed corporate brands embracing and adopting fresh ideas and trends that I previously would have associated to forward thinking geeks and start-ups. Open source software is now pro-actively requested rather than suggested and a lot of the old wives tales about lack of accountability and support have been put to bed. Did anyone ever try calling Microsoft when their .Net site crashed anyway?

I no longer spend a significant portion of my week scanning signed NDAs as people have begun to appreciate that the best way to succeed online is to share and iterate your great idea rather than hide behind password protection for months whilst crafting the all-singing all-dancing solution. Instead I am pleased to see clients shipping the minimal viable product and holding budget for future iterations once real users have got their hands on it.

If the economy doesn’t sort itself out soon we might even see the Agile project process becoming a regular fixture but I think it will be a while before people can fully trust the cost effectiveness of that path.

3. Customer Service is fashionable again

About 10 years ago it was decided upon high that customer service units should be offshored to reduce costs and this would be a great deal for the consumer because of more competitive prices. I am not so sure the consumer agreed, or got a better deal, but it didn’t really matter, as they had no way of really being heard beyond mouthing off in the local pub to a few disinterested souls.

I guess the powers that be didn’t anticipate social media. When your margins are tight and undercutting on price is not viable customer service can be the differentiator. As consumers feeling the pinch we want to spend our pennies effectively and that means taking informed recommendations from others. It is near impossible for a brand to buy a good online reputation. Brands have to prove themselves if they want to build trust and loyalty. Simply put, they have to engage.

And many have! I have anecdotal evidence of BT sorting out a huge billing mess triggered by a frustrated tweet I sent out and I know of many others. It has spawned the Thank You Economy and has proved to be a champion bottom line strategy by guys like Tony Hsieh. It is a return to the principles of the local store where properly serving the community made all the difference between success and failure. Mass consumerism killed that off for a while but it is back now with a vengeance.

4. Death toll for IE6

Internet Explorer version 6 is over 10 years old and the time has come for it to take its place in the historical archives. In a tough environment you need to differentiate from the competition and maximise your budget reach. Neither of these is likely when you are catering to the low-tech needs of 2.9% of your user base (and it’s shrinking rapidly).

I was heartened to see that Google is dropping browser support on its products for anything beyond the previous two versions and the new Alpha Government Project spearheaded by Martha Lane Fox deviated from traditional Government website guidelines by ignoring IE6 and focussing on modern web standards to create delightful experiences for the vast majority. I highly recommend reading their design principles blog post.

5. Innovation in technology embraced

In much the same way we have noticed an embrace of new trends by previously conservative decision makers we have also seen dramatic shifts in how clients look at tech. Cloud platforms and virtualisation servers have been around for a while but have only been seen as acceptable solutions when the cost effectiveness of them became a determining factor on whether a project could happen or not.

Previously we were dreaming up physical dedicated server solutions housed in Central London using traditional (expensive) CDNs to distribute media. This often meant large up front costs to buy expensive licenses and kit. There used to be a sense that it was important to completely own and house your own web architecture, and there was a real distrust of using someone else’s platform, it felt that it even cheapened the offering.

Now we are not only seeing powerful and scalable cloud services becoming common for site hosting but within offices virtualised documents, file sharing, and other software as a service is being widely adopted. We are using a more diverse and tailored toolset to increase efficiency as team sizes shrink, budgets reduce and competition intensifies.

In conclusion...

I do think all of these trends were coming regardless of the economic situation we faced but the recession has certainly brought focus to what is important, killed off a few ridiculous old wives tales that were holding us back and opened our minds to new and improved ways of working.

Would you add any other items to the list? Let me know in the comments below.

In praise of Hardboiled Web Design

For years, there has been a consensus that great web developers are those who can make pixel-perfect replicas of Photoshop-made designs inside Web browsers, from Internet Explorer 6 to more modern browsers. The markup didn't need to be good (hell, clients don't even see it!), and it didn't matter what dirty tricks you used to make the design come to life, or even if it actually was usable, as long as it was working in IE6.

Today, techniques like "progressive enhancement" or "progressive enrichment" prevail. We have got used to building for the least capable browsers first, and improving the experience where possible for more modern browsers. Dumbing-down the experience, we felt lucky when we could squeeze in a few CSS3 rounded corners.

But that needs to change. There is more to CSS3 than rounded corners and drop shadows. Rewarding viewers using modern browsers isn't enough anymore. This is why I got so excited when a few weeks ago, Hardboiled Web Design, a new book from Andy Clarke, was released.

Hardboiled web design is about never compromising on creating the best work we can for the web. The postulate is simple: it is possible to give clients what they want and at the same time use new technologies such as CSS3 and HTML5 to expand creative options. This is the new Bible of Web development. Quoting from the book:

"The reality is that the web has changed, and our work and our clients' expectations must move beyond the one-size-fits-all approach we have laboured over for so long if we're to make the most of what it has to offer. No two browsers are the same, so to make the most from emerging technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3, we need to banish the notion that websites should look and be experienced exactly the same in every browser."

It is no longer about progressive enhancement or even graceful degradation, it's about acknowledging the browsers' differences, and offering the right experience, appropriately crafted and responsive to the capabilities of the browser. Do websites need to look exactly the same on every browser? No. Do websites need to be experienced exactly the same in every browser? Nope.

Potentially this is a radically different work process, where the Photoshop design phase is skipped, and the site is directly designed inside the browser, using the latest technologies available, and with a strong focus on quality, meaningful markup. Development time is reduced, quality improves, clients get to see the design in action very early on (instead of flat images, which fail to represent the browsers' rendering differences), and users benefit from tailored experiences.

This is obviously not a "one size fits all" approach, but it is definitely worth experimenting with.

Paraphrasing Hardboiled Web Design one last time, the question to be asked for your next Web project is and should be: would you rather have developers spending your budget hacking around issues for older browsers like Internet Explorer 6, or spend this time future proofing the website to look the best it can on better, modern desktop browsers, as well as on a whole host of mobile devices?

So what does this mean in practice?

For Desktops:

• The modern browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera and IE9) get the best experience - the one we design for, right from the start. Webkit browsers (Chrome and Safari) get the best experience of all, as they provide the most advanced CSS3 features.
• IE7 and 8 get a simpler version (this generally means no rounded corners, no drop shadows, and little to no eye-candy effects)
• IE6 gets a custom version of the site, different from the other (possibly very different), to accommodate with its rendering capabilities. Simply put: same content, but different form

For Mobiles:

• Depending on the type of site, modern mobile browsers (iOS and Android browsers) can be served the same version as modern desktop browsers, but with a tailored experience adapted for mobile use (using CSS media queries for instance)
• Older and less capable mobile browsers should be served a different website (to save bandwidth and cut down the load time for the user), requiring separate development

Click here or here if you would like up-to-date statistics on browsers market share.

When full service digital is mentioned do you also think… branding?

I think it might come as a surprise to many of our clients that we frequently get involved in branding identity as well. We have worked with a number of start-up web companies over the years so it often makes sense to evolve the brand identity alongside the digital offering as they are so intertwined. However we are also often asked to also refresh existing identities when we are looking at the strategic direction and positioning of clients, particularly if they see their own future being lead through the web. Here are a few examples.

Pownum

Pownum is a start-up company. They came to us with a name, but little else. The idea they wanted to get across is that there is power in numbers and if enough people share a similar view and air it one place, then they can affect change.

The idea, therefore, was to create something that felt inclusive, a bit fun, but also had that sense that pulling together we can all make a change.

We presented an idea that had a nod to the imagery of revolution and looked a little bit ‘home made’ making it feel like it was something ‘made by the people, for the people’.

Global Poetry System

The Global Poetry System (or GPS) was a project launched by the Southbank Centre and was the brainchild of their artist in residence, Lemn Sissay.

We needed to create an identity for the project that was sympathetic to the Southbank Centre’s brand, but also was positioned as being separate to that. The project relied heavily on user-generated content and so we wanted to create a logo that looked like it could have been made by one of the contributors (ie it looked hand-drawn), with a strong strapline underneath that explained what the system actually did.

Users are invited to upload examples of poetry that they have seen or heard. Much of the content is photos of poetry that has been painted on walls (some might say graffiti), and so we wanted to suggest a hint of graffiti in the application of the identity, too.

Tepilo

Tepilo is a joint venture with Channel 4’s Sarah Beeny. It was important to create an identity that could be used alongside Sarah’s image, but that wasn’t irrevocably linked to her, in case the business was sold to someone else in the future.

The identity needed to look authoritative (we are, after all, talking about most people’s largest asset), but friendly and approachable. We felt that these brand attributes also reflected those of Sarah Beeny.

The main visual element of the site is the multitude of user-generated images. We had to ensure that anything we created wasn’t battling for attention with the users’ own images, about which we had no control. We therefore created a logotype using blacks and greys and used muted blues as a background.

We created a strapline “Sarah Beeny’s smarter way to buy, sell and let your home”, but we kept this apart from the actual logotype.

Poetry Book Society & Poetry Bookshop Online

The Poetry Bookshop is owned by the Poetry Book Society. We were commissioned to redevelop their site bit also to evolve their identity.

For both identities, the audience group were loyal and many had been with them for years. We needed to make sure that we didn’t totally reinvent the identity and alienate the organisation’s loyal user-base.

Instead, we evolved the typefaces and colours, to give it a more up-to-date feel, but one that was instantly recognizable to anyone who had seen the earlier incarnations of their logos.

If you are interested in talking to us about branding please drop us an email on hello@codegent.com or call us on 020 7720 4040.

Congratulations! You have just convinced a potential customer to click through from your HTML Email, Google Ad, Banner, Social Network message (the list goes on) you have their attention and they are ready to read, buy or subscribe. So where next?

Sadly in many cases marketers are happy to link hot leads like this through to their home or product page in the hope the user will work it out for themselves. Where is the context? Is this what the user was expecting to see? Is the language consistent? Is that special offer you mentioned clearly visible? Probably not. Welcome to the world of landing pages.

Whilst good landing pages adhere to the core principles of user centred design such as strong usability, clear information layout and simple navigation they are also single minded in their push to convert, not generally inform, the user.

Here are a few golden rules:

Be consistent
It is really crucial to maintain a consistent tone of voice from the source of the click through. You could even consider having the same headline on your landing page as your upstream ad. Sure, it's repetition, but at least the user feels like they are in the right place.

If users are landing from a wide variety of sources then you should probably segment the messaging rather than trying to please everyone with boring catch all copy. The same rules should also be applied to visuals if relevant.

Grab attention and don't waffle
Keep the page to a single point and use minimal text to explain it. Then ask yourself "Does my copy answer immediate, obvious questions or concerns?"

Remove unnecessary navigation and keep refining the content as much a you can. Every item on the page needs to justify its existence. If you want to quickly test your page use the '5 second rule'. Show the page to someone fresh for 5 seconds and then ask them to explain what it was all about. If they can't or mention too many differing messages get back to the drawing board!

If you need a bit more help along the sales process and words, visuals and competitive pricing are not enough then sometimes giving away a limited free account, trial or sample can be effective conversion aids.

Learn to point
It is still quite important to keep your primary call to action (CTA) above the fold (no vertical scrolling) or to repeat the CTA throughout the page if it must be long. Arrows or oversized buttons are the usual visual metaphors for action online. Arrows can also be useful for breaking out of the standard grid lines of your design which will inevitably attract the eye.

If your design features people, face them in the direction of your CTA although resist the urge to be cheesy, authenticity is important.

Colour needs to be considered on CTAs. Red can evoke a strong emotional response although it does also represent "stop". Orange equates to an enthusiastic get-it-done attitude whilst blue is the default web colour for a link.

Use video!
Users are far more likely to watch a well crafted short video or screencast than read a long piece of text.

Only ask for the information you really need
As handy as it would be to know the age, gender and occupation of the user it is not always essential. The more you ask for, the less you will get. If you really do need to know personal information then turn it into a unique selling point e.g. "Tell us your birthday and we will send you a little present on the big day!"

Build trust
If the user clicking through is not already familiar with your brand then official accreditation or affiliation to organisational bodies, logos of well known brands you are partnered with or working for and testimonials (preferably not anonymous!) will support you in your endeavours to convert.

Don't stop the conversation!
Thank you pages are so often overlooked but why should we stop there? This is the ideal place to offer further incentives such as free ebook download or links to more information. A surprise bonus will leave the user feeling very good about the experience.

Likewise you have just converted your lead - well done! They are probably feeling at their most in love with your message at this point so add some social sharing functions here so they can tell their own community about this great product or service and help spread the word for you.

Track your results properly
If you can track the user journey you give yourself a fighting chance of learning from your mistakes as well as knowing what your conversion rate, bounce/abandonment rate and form completion rates are. How else can you tell if the campaign was worth while?

If you would like more information on tracking have a read of our blog article "Five Google Analytics tips you need to know"

I hope you have found this useful and please do leave any comments or other tips below. Also, I could not have written this article without some of the fantastic advice on http://unbounce.com/blog/

2010 is certainly not the first to be touted as the ‘Year of the Mobile Web’ but with the recent launch of the Nexus One and the likely war that will be waged between Google and Apple, it may be the first to actually go some way towards fulfilling its billing.

Currently, 1 in 7 minutes of media consumed in the UK is via a mobile device of some description. That number is set to rise with the end of the iPhone/O2 exclusivity deal, the addition of the Nexus One to the market and the inevitable clamouring amongst the remaining handset manufacturers to catch up. Mobile specific content is no longer a differentiator for companies; it is fast becoming a necessity as users move away from their PCs.

As we become more proficient at sifting through the mass of information at our fingertips and with the evolving development of the semantic web, we are starting to browse for information less and scan for it more. The ‘Smartphoners’ are the biggest ‘scanners’ of us all as they hunt out that quick hit of data; be it social updates, news, directions or very specific information. More and more user journeys follow the pattern of;

search engine > top listed page > back to search engine > another top listed page

As a result, as smartphone market share increases, bounce rate percentages across the land will inevitably rise as users who aren’t finding what they need quickly head off in search of it elsewhere.

The challenge we will face as designers, developers, UXers and strategists is how to overcome this behaviour and capture a user’s interest before they head off into the virtual sunset. The type of thinking that we need to do as creators of content for the mobile web is no different to that which we need to do for the desktop web; there is just less margin for error.

Think in pixels - Information Architecture needs to reflect the hardware that the audience use and this will increasingly mean a screen resolution of 480 x 320. This means cut down copy, reduce layers of navigation and think about content weighting – what are the most important of all the important things you are trying to say? What about font size? Can you read 10pt Verdana easily on an iPhone? Do those beautiful, detailed icons mean anything to the guy scanning your site on his Palm Pre from a train?

Clarity of message – Keep it short, and to the point.

Take SEM by the balls– It is unlikely that a mobile user will get past the first 1 or 2 pages of Google results so to be in with a chance of getting that click-through you need to be running intelligent PPC campaigns (Google mobile still makes room for sponsored links both on its mobile site and iPhone application), have outstanding SEO or go niche – ideally a combination of the 3. Interestingly, Google's mobile search also has room for a couple of real time results so all the more reason to engage with your audience on the social web.

It’s all in the content – I know we always bang on about this, but it is with good reason. Why are your users coming to your site and how do they generally find you? Look at your analytics; what are they looking for and how can you better deliver this information? Smartphone users are less inclined to browse and if they aren’t quickly seeing what they are looking for you may as well wave them goodbye.

The smartphone world is the antidote to the big budget, FWA world of 27” iMacs and megabytes of Flash. It is all about simplification of your message and real emphasis on what audiences want. It is a world where vanity must make way for clarity of message and ultimately one that requires us as an agency to really earn our fees in the field of usability, audience expertise and successful user conversion.

Here are a few of the current heroes from the world of the mobile web;

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/ - easy to use and the right mix of content. Most importantly it doesn't feel like a stripped back version of the full site and of course there is the iPlayer.
• http://touch.facebook.com/ - Everything from the full site, cut up into bite-sized pieces.
• http://mobile.flightstats.com/go/Mobile/home.do - a simple site that helps you find crucial information when you need it.
• http://onetrip.org/ - more of a web app than a site but worth mentioning as they have consciously gone minimal with no GFX to speed up mobile load time.
• http://m.google.com/ - everything you can do on the Google you can do here from searching to mail.

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