Ensuring usability

Usability and accessibility

When designing tools for m-libraries, designers should consider usability. Patrons are dealing with smaller screens (harder to read, loss of context when zoomed in on one part of website) and smaller keyboards (harder to type). The w3 consortium has prepared a document which lists other usability barriers for users of mobile devices. These can include limited colour palette; devices that are often used in noisy environments or on silent mode; images that are shrunk so much they are meaningless, or blocked to save data download costs; no mouse; missing plugins; ability to see only one window at a time; and scripting turned off.28

Interestingly, many of these barriers are similar to barriers faced by patrons with disabilities. A website that is mobile-friendly is therefore often more accessible.28

Suggestions for designers

When designing a website that is mobile-friendly, some hints for designers include include checking a website with CSS turned off, using alternative text for images, and balancing the number of links on a page versus having to follow too many links to reach a given page.

Website designers should also access their websites from different devices and emulators, and run their websites through tools that check mobile-friendliness.23 The w3 provides one such checker.

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