0

I am working on a mobile site that discusses reasons for a problem.

Some of the bolded statements are lengthy. So I am wondering if it might be better to break up paragraphs with images. If so if there might be a suggestion such as 1 image per X paragraphs.

Or maybe an image is best left out of mobile sites when the intent is to quickly present data. Perhaps it might be a better experience to leave out images if the content is less than X paragraphs and if the bullet points do a good enough job.

In my case I am working on a mobile page that starts with one image, then has 5 paragraphs and ends with a set of 8 bullet points. The product is a commercial anti-snoring product. The current site is:

http://mobile.getaveo.com/mobile/what-causes-problem-snoring/what-causes-problem-snoring.aspx

This is not meant to be linkbait, so feel free to chime in with general observations about UX on mobile sites for commercial products.

Improve this question
4
  • This post feels a little bit like spam.
    – DA01
    Jan 15, 2013 at 20:11
  • @DA01 how so? I am working on the site and wanted some feedback on redesign.
    – JGallardo
    Jan 15, 2013 at 21:01
  • it's a vague question with a link to a commercial product. It may not be spam. But feels like it on the surface.
    – DA01
    Jan 15, 2013 at 21:08
  • @DA01 yeah I hesitated to post a link but I am not yet able to post images. I am open to suggestions on how to write better questions, thanks for pointing that out.
    – JGallardo
    Jan 15, 2013 at 21:50

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
4

For a mobile site you'll generally want to keep images to a minimum - if not for screen real estate then for the added bandwidth premium of including images. In fact I know a lot of people that use mobile versions of websites on their regular browsers specifically because they often have fewer images and other distracting factors.

For that particular page I'm actually having trouble seeing any use for that image at all, as the text already conveys all the necessary information. Although if you wanted to include that image, a simple link to it labeled "show diagram" or something like that wouldn't hurt.

Improve this answer
1

Presenting a picture before content is bad, as the user may misinterpret the image and not read the actual content.

Improve this answer
1
  • 2
    What makes you say that? Plenty of sites open their articles with an image. News sites being a prime example.
    – JonW ♦
    Jan 15, 2013 at 21:08
0

I would steer clear of any claim that you should have some kind of ratio of paragraphs to pictures on a mobile site. There isn't a guideline here, since it's highly dependent on the content that is being presented (both text and image) as well as your user audience. Instead, the question that you should ask when you're laying out your content on a mobile site is whether the content that you're laying out meets your user goals.

If you're not sure, then you should conduct some user tests. You've got a website right now, so you can conduct some very quick and easy usability tests. Go to a coffee shop, buy a bunch of $5 gift cards, and go around to people in the coffee shop and ask them if they'll give you a few minutes of feedback about your mobile site on their smartphone in exchange for one of your gift cards. You can do this in an afternoon and get actionable data upon which you can make your design decisions.

Improve this answer
2
  • Nadyne, Thank you for the tip on the gift cards and how to approach people with them. I will begin to implement that as well.
    – JGallardo
    Jan 16, 2013 at 21:01
  • I'm a researcher, so I'm biased towards doing research. You've got a pretty easy question to answer ("is the information on this page useful to someone who's looking for a cure for snoring?"), and you've already got a website, so this is an awesome candidate for some very quick user testing. Plus you get to spend an afternoon in a coffee shop, which I generally enjoy anyway.
    – nadyne
    Jan 16, 2013 at 22:28

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.