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Currently, I do have to work with a legacy web application that can be hard to use via certain mobile devices of older generations due to performance issues. There is already a "Minimum Requirements" paragraph in the FAQ for desktop in place on the website, similar to descriptions on the back of game packages.

Now, I was wondering how such a paragraph could look like regarding the many issues that the web applications has on mobile. Do you have any recommendations on how to address the limitations of the web application regarding a certain range of mobile devices? I'd like to adjust people's expectations, so there'll be maybe fewer complaints about the application. (Unfortunately, to fix all the problems is no option!)

The problems occured after the web application was transitioned from Flash to HTML5. There are many animations and sound effects involved.

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    Do you have the capability to 'sniff' the device at page load? If so you can then completely remove access to the functions that will fail and present the user with a version where 'everything' works. You could also drop in a alert box on the first use encouraging the user to upgrade their device for added functionality - don't tell them "sorry, you can't have this". Tell them "you could have more on a newer device".
    – Roux Martin
    Commented Jul 24, 2017 at 8:24

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With regards to Andrew Martin's comment, I pretty much disagree with that comment.

A more user friendly way would be to work on your product in the background to change the things you can change to broaden your product to a wider platform. Simply saying "to fix all the options is not an option" is a poor way to approach a good experience.

You don't explain what causes the application to slow down on certain mobiles, so it's hard to suggest actions you can take, if you're simply saying we're not going to tackle any technical issues to improve this site, you could put a small message at the top of the screen if you've pulled the device/OS details from Cordova (or similar) and state "Sorry, this site isn't optimized for your device and may run a little slowly," it's not a great approach, but it's an approach.

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  • Sure, I know that neglecting the problems is no good way to ensure a good experience. Unfortunately, I do only have limited ressources to fix all the problems. Therefore, I was looking for a shortcut to address this issue on the user's side and adjust the expectations. I added the reasons which cause the problems to my question.
    – ITJ
    Commented Jul 24, 2017 at 11:02
  • Without an example it's impossible to say, with regards to a message, you're adding another element to an already poorly performing page load, you may as well write "Sorry our website is such a terrible experience, it has many problems that we just lack the conviction to fix," on a pop-up message.
    – DarrylGodden
    Commented Aug 23, 2017 at 11:58

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