[Web4lib] Tools for designing for lower bandwidth users?

[Jesse Ephraim]

Daniel;

Try http://www.loband.org/loband/simulator.jsp

I would suggest pulling the website up on a couple of different cell
phones, particularly ones other than the iPhone and larger screen
Android ones.  You may be very surprised at how your website looks on
them, too.  That is a good way to get an idea of bandwidth and screen
size issues, along with other issues (ex. the side-scrolling nature of
the website you list is unusable on many cell phones).

Jesse Ephraim

Director, Roanoke Public Library
308 S. Walnut
Roanoke, Texas 76262
(817) 491-2691
jephraim at roanoketexas.com



-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Cornwall, Daniel D
(EED)
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 12:11 AM
To: web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Web4lib] Tools for designing for lower bandwidth users?

Hi All,
 
I've been coming to the realization that some of our organization's web
pages may be very unfriendly to low bandwidth users. See
http://www.museums.state.ak.us/online_exhibits/AlaskaGameShow.html for
an example. It comes right up in the broadband friendly office I created
it in, but takes quite awhile to load in other places. 
 
I think I could come up with different ways of presenting this material.
It would help if one or both of the following were available:
 
1) A site or program that could take a URL and estimate the total
loading time for various bandwidths.
2) Some program or site that could simulate lower bandwidth connections
so I could be sure I wasn't developing content for high end bandwith
users only.
 
Any ideas? I know I could sum up the HTML and all the images and then
plug in that figure to a speed calculator, but I'm hoping for something
a little more automated.
 
Thanks in advace for any assistance you can offer. - Daniel
 
===============================
Daniel Cornwall
Head of Technical and Imaging Services
Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums
PO Box 110571
Juneau AK 99811-0571
Ph: 907-465-6332
Fax: 907-465-2665
E-mail: dan.cornwall at alaska.gov
 
What does the Division do? See http://lam.alaska.gov
<http://lam.alaska.gov/>  for a sample.
 
My opinions are my own unless otherwise stated.
_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4lib at webjunction.org
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/