The recent release of the highly anticipated iPad may just turn the web design world on its head. Whether you love the iPad, or hate it … the fact of the matter is that it has arrived and sooner or later we need to learn to design with it in mind.

So what should be taken into consideration when designing for the iPad?

*HTML 5- The iPad offers no support for browser plugins like Flash. If you are hoping to include video, animation or graphics on your site, it is imperative the site be designed using HTML5. HTML has long been the foundation for web development. Their latest version incorporates much of the elements previously only available via Adobe Flash. Luckily, websites designed with HTML5 are easily viewed on the iPad.

*Orientation:  The iPad has no correct way of viewing websites. That means you can view it either in landscape or in the portrait mode. But for the designer that means two completely different layouts for which to design. It is for this specific reason that the iPad highlights the need for smart fluid width design. Using a smart combination of CSS and Javascript the User Experience can be made to improve drastically.

*Contrast:  Because the iPad is a touch screen, it is important to build in a lot of white space and contrast to make the pad easy for visitors to use. After all, if they can’t click deeper into your site, you are never going to convert them.

*Test, test, test: while testing is an important component of any new web design, it has never been truer than when attempting an iPad friendly web design. There are already several sites out there that offer you the ability to take a ‘peek’ at how your new design will look on an iPad, a great tool is www.ipadpeek.com.

*Touch Screen: Primary method of user interaction with the iPad is and will be the fingers. The users will interact with our websites using fingers. So all those brilliant hover effects that were favorable for pointer-based devices, will be a hurdle in user experience on the iPad. Also the links can no longer be concealed in a text and left for the user to dexterously click upon it. We might want to resize the links so that the user experience does not suffer.

Is your Web site flattering? Does it have qualities that mimic the person with a protruding belly, clad in a midriff? What about the gentleman wearing the prom suit jacket, which is now three sizes too small? Either way, both tend to make the audience look away, uncomfortably.  When it comes to style and dimension, one size never fits all. Web design and SEO are not any different. Given the gazillion Web sites on the Internet, formulating a distinctive online marketing strategy is paramount then ever.

At the factory workplace, a bow tie is too formal for the environment. And, flash design is not for every marketplace. Flash animation is one of those Web design features that either attracts or repels. In particular, flash does not do much in the way of procuring new business relationships. The reason is because regular Internet users prefer to experience Web sites on their own terms. In particular, business-to-business prospects have a short attention span, searching for information in the shortest time possible.

Aside from film, fashion,  and advertising, where flash reflects the marketplace, the Web design feature has mixed reviews. To accommodate and reduce the bounce rate, a well-designed Web site offers flash and standard HTML options.

Form-fitting bodysuits are not intended for the plus-sized figure. The one-man shop, a page on Linked In or the single paged Web site is adequate enough to serve the marketing agenda. Nonetheless, the abbreviated Web site does not work for every entity. Obviously, the organizations providing numerous products and services necessitate the full fledge Web development.

Social media is not intended for every Internet marketing strategy. Depending on the industry, Twitter and Facebook may serve a futile marketing mediums. In the realm of the small business, which services other corporations, social media networking is not always an applicable solution.  Depending on the service, (in example oil rigging company, brokerage firm, etcetera) social media may or may not be the best marketing medium for your target audience.

In the end, good web design is equivocal as good fashion sense. Both make or break the impression. Each considers the audience appropriateness. And just as – all sizes and styles are inappropriate for all body types; a similar rule applies to Web design and all business models.

 Let The Net Impact tailor-fit a solid Web design strategy for your Web site.

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