Ipad Friendly Web Design

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The recent release of the highly anticipated iPad may just turn web design on its head. Popular technologies used on many of today’s most visited websites simply aren’t supported by the iPad. At first blush, many may think: “so what?” After all, the iPad is really the first generation of usable tablet design. How big of an impact can it really have?

When you consider its producer, Apple, you may just change your mind. After all, the release of the iPod single-handedly changed the way we listen to music. Website owners would be foolish not to consider the impact the iPad will have on their customer base. Some of the biggest names on the internet have already designed mirror sites that are compatible with the iPad. For those of us considering going with iPad friendly web design, there are a few ‘musts.”

One of the biggest considerations is the fact that the iPad doesn’t support Adobe Flash. For those of us that are technologically impaired, Adobe Flash is a component used by website designers to integrate ...
... animation, video and games into websites. It is the most common element shared by websites that include animation. Obviously, websites that rely heavily on flash will not appear the same on the iPad. For this reason, web developers have had to turn to another solution.

If you are hoping to include video, animation or graphics on your site, it is imperative the site be designed using HTML5. HTML has long been the foundation for web development. Their latest version incorporates much of the elements previously only available via Adobe Flash. Luckily, websites designed with HTML5 are easily viewed on the iPad.

There are other things to keep in mind when attempting to create an iPad friendly web design:

1. Orientation: The iPad will display your site both horizontally and vertically, so it is important to keep in mind the different views your visitors may have.

2. Contrast: Because the iPad is a touch screen, it is important to build in a lot of white space and contrast to make the pad easy for visitors to use. After all, if they can’t click deeper into your site, you are never going to convert them.

Finally, while testing is an important component of any new web design, it has never been truer than when attempting an iPad friendly web design. There are already several sites out there that offer you the ability to take a ‘peek’ at how your new design will look on an iPad. First in line? www.ipadpeek.com †of course!

Online business owners would be foolish to ignore the release of the iPad. One can reasonably expect it to have as big of an impact on the way websites are designed as the iPod had on the way music is purchased. Working closely with a qualified designer will ensure that the latest industry technologies are used to create a “mirror site” that will appear flawless when viewed by an iPad user.

If you need your website to be viewable on the Apple IPad, contact us. We can help!