CREATION: Forrester outlines the failings of WAP

WAP, which has been dubbed one of the Internet industry's biggest letdowns, has failed to live up to expectations because WAP websites fall short of recognising mobile phone users' unique needs, a report has found. A recent study by Forrester Research has said companies looking to promote and sell through WAP need to re-address navigation and content structure. The report said to build a successful WAP site, companies should follow the concept of "microdesign", which enables easy navigation and downloading. The research firm had tested 50 sites for its report - all of which failed its usability test. In fact, the average site failed on more than half of the researcher's criteria. Forrester outlined guidelines for a successful WAP site in its report, which noted companies that fall short of microdesign risk brand erosion, a sharp fall in traffic through other channels, lower revenue and lost customers. The researcher said that microdesign rests on three principles - obvious navigation, concise content and automated integration with other channels. The report also said users should be able access the site's content without having to learn a navigation scheme, and content should be optimised for small screens. Detailed content should only be presented to users who request it. Forrester also argued that offerings on WAP should synchronise with other channels, including the Web and interactive TV. Forrester associate analyst Carsten Schmidt said that today's WAP sites fail to attract users mainly because firms are force-fitting existing Web content onto a tiny screen without considering the unique needs of mobile users. "Because of the mobile Internet's unique attributes, Web experience doesn't yield WAP success, and the lessons learned from years of website design fail to apply to mobile devices. "Instead, companies must unlearn the Web's rules and master a new competency that Forrester calls Microdesign," she said. Forrester surveyed WAP sites across 11 countries and 10 categories through the models Nokia 7110 for basic testing, and the Ericsson R380 and Siemens S35 for browser compatibility. The research company identified three key tasks at each site. Sites were rated on a four-point scale: two (exemplary pass), one (pass), -1 (failure) or -2 (critical failure). Meanwhile, a recent report by Strand Consult brought more bad news for smaller WAP sites, as it found more than four-fifths of WAP users navigate their way online through a WAP portal. The study found the average WAP user surfed the online Internet around eight minutes a day, and that just four per cent of users had shopped using their WAP handsets, although 57 per cent had tried to buy online through a PC. It added that WAP users, not portals, would determine the success of the mobile Internet. Interestingly, two thirds of the respondents in the report said their employer paid for WAP usage, with 46 per cent using it mostly for business-related issues. The report also said 61 per cent of WAP users were satisfied with their WAP phones. Forty per cent of respondents used WAP phones to access their email, but mostly preferred to surf WAP pages with news, Internet and business services.

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