Informz for Mobile Devices: Making Your s PDA and Phone-Friendly

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1 Informz for Mobile Devices: Making Your s PDA and Phone-Friendly The use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) has increased exponentially since the early days of rudimentary Palm Pilots and similar devices. Today many corporate executives rely on their PDAs whether it is a Blackberry, iphone or one of the many other products on the market for much more than keeping their schedules handy. Communication via the PDA is a key component in B-to-B marketing and communication and as marketers it is important that we service this growing community of users appropriately. At this time there are no current industry standards or rules in place for creating HTML s that will render with uniformity among the various types of PDAs. The best practices presented here are effective to the majority of PDA devices, but it must be stated clearly that not all solutions outlined will work perfectly for all devices. Basic Rules of ing to PDAs Since PDAs will read HTML coding differently among the brands, and taking into consideration the actual physical restrictions of the device itself, it is important to create s that will appeal to all subscribers and work among the majority of PDA holders. Before examining the basic rules, a suggestion was made that you determine approximately how many of your current subscribers rely either solely or heavily on the PDAs to receive your s. A great way to do this is to send out a poll or an Informz Survey to capture the percentage of your subscribers with mobile devices. The number of people using the hand held devices can dictate the best way to move forward with your marketing efforts; if there is a large constituent of PDA users in your subscriber base, consider setting their profiles to receive Text Only s. This will ensure that your message is being received and able to be read clearly. If there is an insistence of receiving HTML s, there are some common rules to consider, which will be covered in the following section.

2 HTML vs. Text Most mobile devices are capable of rendering HTML coding, however the better way to reach them is via Text Only s. In fact, Text s are ideal for PDAs: they load faster, are easier to read on smaller screens and are displayed in a readable order (i.e. no tables.) Informz will automatically create a text version of templates and s complete with any links programmed in the . To do this, use the Text button on the HTML editor bar ( ) to create the text version:

3 Informz will automatically generate a text only , complete with any links that are contained in the HTML version. Note how the links in the HTML version transfer to the text version. You can tighten up the spacing in the text version in this pop-up window to make it easier to read. Some common practices when designing Text s to give them a slightly more designed look is to separate news stories with a row of asterisks (****) or dashes (----) or other symbols to give a little visual interest. Always Add a Link to the Web Version of This is a simple step that will satisfy those receiving Text s and HTML s as well. This link is found in your template and is easily set. It is good practice to remember to include this link when creating new templates. To do so, follow this easy step:

4 Add similar messaging to the top of your template, highlight the phrase online version and then click on the hyperlink button on the toolbar indicated by the ( ) symbol. Select the Web Version of this Mailing from the list in the pop-up window and then click continue. The link has now been established in the HTML and Text versions of the template and will appear in the final mailing to your subscribers.

5 Tables NOT <DIV> Tags A general rule of thumb in marketing is to avoid the use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) in HTML since many clients are unable to read the code. This is especially important when creating s and templates that will be read on PDAs. Tables allow for a neat and orderly layout in an ; most PDAs (that render HTML coding properly) are able to read tables. The thing to consider is the size and the span. There are two ways to code tables in HTML: one is to give an expansive width to a table, the other is to set the width with a specific pixel span. The recommendation for PDA devices is to set the table width at an absolute size. HTML code for tables with elastic borders is written as follows: <table style="width: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse"> What this coding tells browsers is to expand or contract the table according to the width of the screen resolution. While this may sound tempting to do for a PDA screen since they re so small, it does not work that way for those devices. What generally happens on those PDAs that do not render HTML in its true intention will likely stretch out beyond the capability of side-scrolling, deeming the illegible and probably annoying to try to navigate. Chances are your subscriber will delete it before reading any headlines. The better practice for creating tables in s is to define the table span: <table style="width: 600px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse"> By constraining the properties, there s a better chance that the coding will contain the contents making it easier to read on smaller devices without compromising how the will load on a desktop or laptop screen. *Note: the general width size of s is around 750 pixels, but that standard may be changing because of the increased use of PDAs. Most reference sites are now recommending a pixel width of 600 for s so that PDAs will not have to require so much side scrolling to read content.

6 Another Solution to Consider If you have a number of subscribers who rely on their desktop and PDAs an equal amount of the time, what you may want to consider is creating a second HTML version of your stripped of images. Include a link in your If viewing this on a PDA, please click here and then hyperlink to a scaled down version of the devoid of images, large headers and one uniform font. To do this, follow these steps: A. First, create the "mobile-friendly" version of your template. You can do this by copying your current template. In the copy, remove all images. Replace them with text if necessary. This includes buttons. Be sure to include a link to the web version in this template. B. Next, create the "mobile-friendly" version of your , using the template you just created. This is basically going to be your , minus extra images, buttons, etc. C. Publish your mobile-friendly with the mobile-friendly template TO YOURSELF. This will create the online version of this basic version of your . Click the online version and capture that URL. D. Go into your original or template to add the "Click here if you are viewing this on a PDA" text. Link to the URL you captured in Step C. Subject Line Etiquette Since the real estate in PDAs is constricted, subject lines play a vital role in getting your PDA users to open your . Most subject lines contain upward to 60 characters; PDAs will show the first 20 characters of a subject line so making those first THREE words (general rule) high impact and relevant is very important. Be sure to be mindful of your subject lines always to avoid possible spam filters and to serve the needs of your PDA users. Final Thoughts While there are no set guidelines to be followed to ensure that people using a PDA to view your s will not encounter some issues, there are several tactics that can be used to make the readability (and deliverability) as optimal as possible. Key things are robust Text Versions of s, a minimum of images used in HTML versions, consistent font types, controlled table sizes (maximum width: 600 pixels) and mindful subject lines. With some research and consideration, most PDA subscribers will be able to access important information from you as quickly and easily as those who use desktops and laptops.