Comments on: Designing Websites for the iPad

By: Calgary Web Design

Calgary Web Design — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:53:24 +0000

I was a bit surprised to see your article given that the launch is still a way aways – but those who are ahead of the curve can be those who define the next era of web design. Thanks for the food for thought.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:20:37 +0000

Jason, you can probably answer that question regarding whether the iPad is 1024px wide or high yourself. The device itself really gives it away

By: v-render

v-render — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:15:19 +0000

great tips and overview here..
i think designing specially for some device is not a good idea but like mobile version we can keep these tips in mind for ipad. Not using flash just because ipad doesn’t support is bad idea. As we treat IE6, 7 same way ipad is lagging in flash rendering so we dont care if your browser supports it or not. Adding specific CSS for each device type is also impossible and time consuming. so Putting note on website for best viewing or putting optional css is good idea on this.

Now a days, we are moving to open platform of operating system and we want it to happen. As per my reading on net, people want services not the operating system. so we do not design for any os as website is concerned. but every big company is trying to create their monopoly and keep users bound with them. so its getting tougher.
quiet a big note but a personal opinion.

By: Matthew Frederick

Matthew Frederick — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:01:47 +0000

It’s worth considering that Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines suggest a minimum tapping target size of 44 pixels in both dimensions.

By: kay

kay — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:42:30 +0000

Does anyone know what the user agent will be? iPad?

By: Brad Landers

Brad Landers — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:25:46 +0000

Some more to add to the list:

There is no ‘hover’, so things like drop down menus that require a user to mouse over them won’t work.

There is no drag and drop. When a user touches the screen, the event is registered as a click. If they touch and drag, the browser captures the event and uses it to reposition the page on the screen. This is equivalent to “scrolling” to use a desktop metaphor. No click event reaches the DOM.

By: Preston

Preston — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:35:15 +0000

Excellent Post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the issue. Your readers might also enjoy this:

“Will the iPad change the way YOU design?”

It’s a great addition to the conversation. Anyway… here’s the link.
http://graphicdesignblender.com/will-the-apple-ipad-change-how-you-design

Thanks for sharing.

By: Nathan Pope

Nathan Pope — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:32:40 +0000

I think designing for the ipad is very important. It is bound to be widely accepted groundbreaking device.

By: Hector Lee

Hector Lee — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:04:34 +0000

With Apple not supporting Flash. It challenges designers/developers to push the limits of what they have and be creative with their work.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:57:55 +0000

The fact that the iPad can be viewed either in landscape or portrait with a quick physical rotation means that you DON’T actually have to design for both. 960px wide will be just fine, fluid or not. If the person viewing your site has to scroll horizontally while viewing in portrait orientation, they’ll figure it out almost immediately that viewing in landscape will be optimal.

Designing FOR the iPad is a mistake. Designing something that will remain iPad friendly is not. And 960px wide is iPad friendly enough for rock-n-roll.

By: Peter Cooper

Peter Cooper — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:45:22 +0000

For what it’s worth, I just tested this page on the iPad simulator and it looks good. All scaled properly. I tried Ryan Seddon’s portfolio above and the result was major horizontal scroll – no scaling at all there it seems.

By: Jason Aswell

Jason Aswell — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:43:38 +0000

@ jason

that last part of your comment about 1024px is one of the stpidest things i’ve read lately.

just sayin’