Designing Tablet PC Websites
By Chris De Herrera
Revised 12/15/02

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Here are my thoughts on what to consider when designing a website for Tablet PCs:

1. If you make your website to work well at 800 x 600, Tablet PC users in Portrait mode will see scroll bars. Almost all Tablet PCs are using 1024 x 768.  So when users are using their Tablet PC in Portrait mode, the width of the screen in Internet Explorer supports images of up to 725 pixels wide.

2. Choose fonts that support ClearType hinting.  Example fonts that look good with ClearType include Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Comic Sans MS, and Times Roman. ClearType allows readers to view smaller fonts more clearly.  Microsoft's list of fonts for Windows XP.

3. Consider supporting ink based functions like RiteMail which allows users to use ink in e-mail.  Also you may want to review Casey Chesnut's article TabletInk on using Ink with Internet Explorer.

4. Consider how you design your website into columns.  Keep in mind that users may prefer to press their hand on the screen while scrolling and whether or not they can read your content. To run the website you'll ideally need a web host provider

5. Consider the size of the images and text that users can click on for hyperlinks.  Some users may have difficulty clicking on small images due to the use of a stylus.

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If you have additional ideas on what Webmasters should configure on their Tablet PC Websites, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]