Guidelines for WAP Interface Design

For WAP interface design just as with any other device, content, design and navigation must be developed in a way that meets the needs of typical users.

Further Frontend research and user testing has highlighted certain key guidelines for WAP interface development. Just as with any other device, content, design and navigation must be developed in a way that meets the needs of typical users. Some of the more significant recommendations, within each of these categories, are listed below:

Navigation

• Navigation should prioritise key user tasks. Real estate is at a premium on most WAP devices - and consequently prioritising is more important than ever. As concisely as possible, new users should be introduced to the extent of the content and services provided.
• Links from the homepage should be kept to the minimum number possible. Although users will scroll, this is a time consuming activity and a small screen means that in long lists, top items will be forgotten before the end is reached.
• Menus should be 'wide' as opposed to 'tall'. Each time a user follows a link a delay is inevitable, meaning that number of clicks is an important measure of efficiency in the WAP environment.
• Navigation should always feature a clear 'back' link returning the user to the previous page, unlike the Web, WAP developers cannot rely on this functionality to be built into the interface.

Design

• Make sure to test WAP services on a variety of different devices to ensure the integrity of the design independent of presentation or physical navigation method.
• As some WAP browsers may not underline links, try to establish a meaningful convention to denote links that the user will understand intuitively at first sight.
• Any graphical logo design must work within the confines of the screen - a tall logo may be illegible to the user and merely confuse.
• Menu items should contain a maximum of 16 letters in order to ensure legibility. If text does wrap, ensure that words themselves are not broken.
• As with other media, assist the reader by emphasising key points and formatting to assist scanning. Use bold text rather than underlines - which may be taken for links by users with web experience.

Content

• Headings and titles should provide as much navigational help as possible. Although short, care should be taken to give the user an indication of exactly what is available behind each link.
• Similarly, titles of pages should be as meaningful as possible and give the user a sense of where they are within the service.
• Jargon and abbreviations should be avoided at all times.
• Content should be continuous - encouraging users to scroll. Leaving 'gaps' in content invites the user to assume they have reached the end of a page and react accordingly.