User Experience Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for user experience researchers and experts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I'm currently busy with a mobile version of a website, but I wonder if I should allow the user to add reviews / upload photo's ed. First of all, they have to log-in and then they have to fill in a (simplified) form.
But when I read about the design principles for mobile design, I think I have to keep this functionality out of the mobile version. Mobile is all about simplicity, omitting and focus ed.
Should I leave this functionality out of the mobile version?
Mobile users expect to be able to do the same things as on their computers. Read a great article on Smashing Magazine: presidential smackdown that will explain why mobile rendering of the website should be the same(functionality wise) as desktop. Also these days users browse internet not only when they are on the go, they do it on their commute to work, their couch and toilet
Why do you need a simplified version of the form? In my opinion you should ask only for 2 things when user is registering: email and password. If you need more personal information from you users allow them to fill it out later - Linked in style signup.
Also safari doesn't allow uploading files from iPhone, there is a workaround
There is no good answer for your question without knowing the context of the website. Although in general providing simplicity when creating mobile sites, and selectively turning off some features is crucial (as opposed to having the functionality as close to the desktop version when there is no excuse for cutting it off), context is critical for this decision.
For example: let's say your site deals with what happens around users. Lack of a possibility to submit this information (even from mobile devices, where adding it is way more troublesome due to text input), the whole idea about such website is to submit the content by the users when they are on the go. And sometimes, submitting photos is also important.
Should this be similar to your case, you should definitely keep the possibility to submit text and photos, but caring for the simplicity of the whole process (e.g. keeping long sessions on mobile - of course if it is safe for the user, which again depends on the context). However, if you feel this is a side feature, you can (and maybe even: should) skip it, due to site simplification for mobile.
In other words, simplification is always a way to consider, as long as it does not interfere with the main purpose(s) of the site.
