Optimizing Website for Mobile Access

Developers who are building Ajax based websites for mobile access have to think of optimization at all times. Even though the performance of mobile computers such as smart phones and UMPCs has increased, their hardware capabilities are still not at par with the experience of a regular computer. Although we are not expecting a desktop-like experience from smart phones, developers should aim for a near desktop experience even for mobile browsing. That way, the website will attract more users because of its ease of access and better user interaction because of its Ajax functionality.

One of the best ways of optimizing your website is to actively inform your user regarding the status of the online application. For example, Gmails simple “Loading” and “Still Working” assures the user that the application is still running as expected and the user will just have to be a patient a little bit so that the application loads successfully.

The partial screens or asynchronous streaming of information in specific areas of the webpage should be used all the time. By changing only parts of the page, the website will use very little resources in loading the results of the requested information. Ajax is well known for this feature and developers have to exploit this as much as possible to build a user friendly website especially for mobile access.

The HTML part of the website could never be avoided but that doesn’t mean it can be used as an advantage. HTML is very easy to load in mobile computers but could be a burden since the information has to be refreshed every time small information is requested from the browser. This would cause constant refreshing which will slow down the application in the mobile browser. If the developer has to combine HTML will JavaScript, it would be easier for the developer to place the JavaScript functions to be placed at the bottom. The HTML will have the full resources of the mobile browser and although it would take a time to load JS, the constant refresh of HTML will be avoided.

Also avoid CSS expressions. Although it could have significant information for your website such as streaming information, your mobile computer will be forced to evaluate this function constantly for any updates. This could slow down your application significantly since most of the resources will be spent on evaluating CSS. Use CSS reference instead so that only bare information will be loaded to the application. If you could combine the information into one CSS file that should even be better.

Lastly, build an application with as little external links possible. Although we know that the link is an Ajax application optimized for mobile browsers, the transfer from one site to another for a small piece of information will slow down the application. Removing external resources will hasten your Ajax application and will create an Ajax based application that’s lightweight while preserving the functionality of your application.

Optimization is important for an Ajax application especially for mobile browsing. Developers have to ensure optimization is observed to ensure more visitors and better interaction.