Mobile users rejoice! And I need some help... :)

I've got a fairly exciting announcement for all of you mobile users of my main website. I am creating a mobile format, for anyone with a Smartphone, iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, etc.

It's going to be a LOT more easily accessible than the current website layout, which is not suited to a mobile user in any way.

It will have most of the features of the main website, but will be more streamlined, and less "texty/bulky". Descriptions will be a bit shorter, and not quite as many photos will be used. It's going to be good.


But, I need some volunteers! I need a few select people, who will be willing to test a beta-version of the mobile site, before it goes live.


I'll need at least one iPhone user, one Blackberry user, and a few assorted phone users with internet capabilities.

If you'd like to be in on this, email me, and I will get you the link to the mobile site.

My only conditions are that you must be willing to really try the website out, and check for errors. Nothing complex - just browse around, and enjoy. Make sure it fits in your screen well, the text is well sized, the pictures are proportioned correctly, etc. If you run into any errors, email me, and take a screenshot if you can.

I am looking forward to how this will turn out. I think it will make mobile browsing of the site much easier.

Some of you may be wondering why I decided to make a mobile version of the site. It's a good question, and I think a good answer is in order:

In this day and age of technology, mobile browsing is no longer something we have to do when we can't access a full computer. In many cases, it's becoming the preferred method of internet access, most particularly in the social networking circle.

Though the exact number isn't known, it's estimated that about 1/3 of America's population uses a mobile device to access the internet, on a regular basis. That's a LOT of people! And with that much usage of mobile browsers, the demand for compatible sites has risen.

Now, the other reason for a mobile site, aside from just being "the thing to do", is the convenience of it. If you're on the train, waiting, with nothing to do, and you've been thinking about those pens sitting in your drawer, broken for a year - you might be in the mood to go check out that one repairer's site again. The ability to easily navigate the website, without going through hoops of fire, means a more pleasant user experience. And I do love making things easy, and enjoyable for people. :)

So, that's the basic concept of it. I'm creating a mobile site to grant easy and convenient access to anyone who wishes to browse my website "on the go".

Again, I do need some kind volunteers, who are willing to commit a very small amount of time to browsing the mobile site, and reporting any bugs. If you're interested, send me an email! :)

Aside from that, look forward to the site going live in about 1-2 months, or sooner.

Regards,
Tyler Dahl