Report

November 2000

Mastering Mobile Site Design

Carsten Schmidt 		Today's WAP sites merely shrink Web offerings, failing to deliver new value to mobile users. Firms need a new approach built for the mobile Internet: Microdesign.
by Carsten Schmidt with Matthew Nordan, Sean Heukels, Caroline Sceats

MARKET OVERVIEW
  • Today's WAP sites repeat Web mistakes from 1995.
  • But WAP will go mass-market in less than half the time that the Web did.
ANALYSIS
  • All 50 sites reviewed failed basic user experience tests.
  • Design flaws -- not technology issues -- take the blame.
  • Firms need Microdesign: a new approach built on obvious navigation, concise content, and automatic integration.
ACTION
  • Vendors want WAP to succeed -- exploit their help.
  • Learn mobile usage internally by handing out WAP phones.
WHAT IT MEANS
  • Airlines will compete with WAP portals for ad spending.
  • Microdesign will take the US by storm.
 
Figures & Data
  • Figure 1.  Europe's Mobile Internet Takes Off
  • Figure 2.  Forrester Tests 50 WAP Sites On User Experience
  • Figure 3.  Even Top Sites Failed User Experience Tests
  • Figure 4.  Microdesign Rests On Three Principles
  • Figure 5.  Microdesign Stands Apart From Web Design
  • Figure 6.  Microdesign In Action: Obvious Navigation
  • Figure 7.  Microdesign In Action: Concise Content
  • Figure 8.  Microdesign In Action: Automatic Integration
   
RELATED MATERIAL 
  • Vendors And Consultancies Interviewed For This Report
  • Technographics Methodology
  • Related Research
 
GRAPEVINE
  • Slicing the mobile Onion.
  • Another cool toy for James Bond from Q?
  • Freever chats up mobile operators.
  • UMTS auctions breed unemployment.
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