Remember to touch me before…

Almost all smartphones since last 2-3 years have (better or worst) touchscreen interfaces, from not so long on the market are available laptops and PCs AIO e.g. from MSI, who have this type of touch screens. Only by working on these devices we can see the difference between comfort of using. For this reason, finger-based touch screens will not be restricted only to smart phones over the next few years.

On the one hand touching is more natural than navigation using the mouse or keyboard, but because of “mistakes” sometimes the design is sometimes frustrating to navigate.

Tapping the item you want is very hard, because the surface of your fingertip covers an area of two or even more items. You end up tapping repeatedly on the area, enabling random item (e.g. in main menu list), wishing you could change shape of your finger. After more than a few tries, you get lucky and hit the right one. It’s very frustrating, that’s why I should use zoom to click the right one, or I have to use my computer mouse if I’m using AIO.

So try to design with that in mind, try to improve these navigation issues. That means making the clickable all area around your text links or making buttons a bit larger, and putting more space between them. Especially If you want to design template and his navigation elements optimized for touchscreens or non-mouse input devices.

Here are some tips how to improve touchability:

• Make important buttons and other tappable objects bigger. Fingers have different shapes and sizes, so when you will be setting clickable areas, be aware that not every user has the same “size”.
• If it possible try to reduce the number of items in all menus execialy in sub menus.
• Limits the amount of clickable elements in its layout to further decrease the chance that a user will accidentally click on an undesired element.
• If making a item or button bigger is impossible, then enlarge the clickable area to be bigger then the button itself.
• Reduce the number of options on each screen, and make the selection process sequential.

You have to have in your mind all possible device limitations when they are creatings projects. Remember that people using iPad, Smartphones etc. in bus, car, train or small but fast boat.