What We Stand For
· Secular Values.
· Human Rights & Equality Before the Law.
· Good Science Awareness & Education.
· Recognition of Naturalistic Belief Systems.
· The Right to Choose & Change Beliefs.
· Membership: Open To All.
· Politically Neutral, yet Democratic.
We stand for secular values in government and education, unbiased by irrational, ideological, political or religious influences.
We stand for individual human and civil rights as well as equality before the law.
We stand for good science, scientific awareness and science education and oppose any attempt to curtail or unduly influence scientific progress and the dissemination of scientific knowledge and understanding.
We stand for the recognition of naturalistic and non-religious belief systems as a legitimate and fulfilling alternative to supernatural religious doctrines.
We stand for the individuals’ right to choose what they believe without childhood indoctrination or the coercion of bribery, guilt, fear or intimidation.
Our membership is open to anyone who appreciates that no single ideology, political philosophy or religious doctrine can adequately arbitrate the mores of a multicultural society and that government, legislative and judicial authorities should be based on principles that transcend all creeds and divisions. Principles that work for society as a whole without unduly privileging those of a particular ideological, political or religious institution.
Secular-OU recognises no political affiliation save for the democracy that comprises its infrastructure.
Mobile Website Design - 5 Things You Need To Know
Do I Really Need A Mobile Website?
The latest stats are truly staggering. According to CBS news, there are more than 5 Billion cell phones in use worldwide, and about one billion of these are capable of connecting to the internet.
In fact, there are more internet-connected mobile devices than there are desktop and laptops combined.Because the use of mobile devices is steadily rising, it’s important that every business consider building a mobile-friendly website. Those that don’t, risk losing business to those that do… it’s just that simple.
While all businesses could benefit by having a mobile-friendly website, some business types will benefit more than others. If your business offers any sort of mobile service, emergency services, or simply appeals to those “on-the-go,” you fit that category.
It would be impossible for me to list the business types I think would benefit most, but I will give you some examples to help you determine whether your business might benefit.
Example 1 – Car Towing Service
This example should be easy to follow. A motorist breaks down and is in need of an emergency towing service. As they’re not at home, it’s likely they will use a mobile device to find the service they need.This highlights both the need for a mobile-friendly website, and a website that is well-optimized for the search engines (aka “SEO” – Search Engine Optimization).
Example 2 – Restaurants
After church, a group of friends talks about where they might go to lunch. A search is conducted on someone’s “smart phone,” and a restaurant is selected.
Example 3 – Chiropractor (or many other medical-services businesses)
An out-of-town businessman starts experiencing back pain. As he’s out of his usual area, he uses his mobile device to look for a chiropractor that takes “walk-in” appointments.As you can see, there are a lot of reasons that someone might use a mobile device to look for a business. An added benefit is that most are looking to do business right away, not sometime in the future.
If your mobile website is easy to find, attractive, easy to navigate, and offers your essential business information, you stand a good chance to gain a new customer.
I realize that all of this is pretty technical, but it’s important that you at least know your options before you begin your mobile website project.
So, what do I recommend?
I recommend the use of XHTML MP (the “Mobile Profile” version of XHTML). It’s fully supported by all browsers, and allows you to take advantage of a variety of “mobile features,” including “Click-to-Call” links.
It’s what I’ve used for my own mobile website, and what I recommend to my clients.
If you have a mobile device handy, you can click here to see my mobile website.
Designing a mobile website can be a real challenge because there are so many inconsistencies between the devices used to access your website.Some, like smartphones, have very small screens and others, like iPads have larger screens that can view sites in “landscape” format.
Some can view Flash-video content, and some, like the devices from Apple, cannot.
Some have relatively fast processors, and full-featured browsers, and some have neither.Most do not have a full-sized keyboard, if they have a keyboard at all. Because of this, it’s important your mobile site be optimized for “touch screens.” This segment represents the fastest-growing segment of mobile devices, and nearly all of the new devices in production use touch-screen technology.
In general terms, here are the main things to consider when designing your mobile site:
Your site should have a “flexible” layout… one that expands or contracts depending on the size of the mobile screen viewing it.
The layout should not require the user to scroll left-to-right, nor should it require them to “zoom-in” or “zoom-out” if possible.
Your site should be easy to navigate through the user’s touch screen.
Your contact information should be easily found, and all of your phone numbers should use the “Click-to-Call” feature.
Each page of your mobile site should be optimized to yield a small file size. Many devices have slow processors and will “slow to a crawl” if your page sizes exceed 75kb.
If your customers come to your business location, consider adding an interactive “Google map” or some other functionality that will make it easy for your mobile visitors to find you.
Don’t use “Flash” for any element on your mobile site. If you do, some users simply will not be able to see it. Instead, consider either removing the “dynamic” content altogether, or simulating the effect through Javascript.
Most mobile devices are Javascript-enabled, and will properly display the content.
Do I Really Need A Mobile Website? The latest stats are truly staggering. According to CBS news, there are more than 5 Billion cell phones in use worldwide, and about one billion of these are capable of connecting to the internet. In fact, there are more internet-connected mobile devices than there are desktop and laptops combined.Because the use of mobile devices is steadily rising, ...
