Sep 17
Mobile phones differ from one another dramatically, and this will radically change how people experience and use websites. Some of the ways in which handheld devices can differ include:
- Screen size (small vs. large)
- Screen layout (portrait vs. landscape)
- Input device (stylus, numeric keypad, dial-wheel, QWERTY keypad)
Because the mobile phone that someone is using will have such a profound effect on their experience of your site, you should try to test with as many mobile phones as possible.
Of course, testing with every mobile phone is impossible. Here are some ideas to help narrow down the number of devices you’ll need to test with:
- Your mobile site visitors may belong to a specific audience. Certain audiences tend to prefer particular types of phones (e.g. phones with big screens that are designed to support online access vs. small-screen models that aren’t).
- There are ‘phone families’ that offer a very similar user experience (and will not need to be tested individually).
- You may only want to test with the most popular mobile phones in Europe or the most popular models that are being used to access your site (you can check your site statistics to find out this information).

