User blog:Susanolivia/Improving the Tablet Experience

As we began to define Project Darwin and discuss potential changes in site layout, one thing became clear: the ever-growing number of users on tablets demands a tablet experience that lives up to its use. In August 2013, almost 8% of the total traffic on Wikia came from tablet devices. 6 months ago, that number was just slightly over 6% and current trends point to a steady increase in tablet page views over the coming months.

Currently (without fluid layout), tablets get what looks like a "zoomed out" version of what you see on desktop computers. This makes an article tiny and hard to read, while links and buttons are small and hard to click. Readers usually need to use multitouch gestures to zoom in on the article content area in order to get a comfortable reading experience, and have to repeat that action with every new page that loads. Here's what Wikia looks like on an iPad today:

Now that's a much better sight for sore eyes. Want to see for yourself? You can explore the new experience for tablets by visiting Community Central or Darwin Wikia on your devices, and be sure to let us know what you think!

While Darwin is busy enhancing the tablet experience in web browsers, there are also other ways to view your favorite Wikia communities. Check out the My Wikia app on iPad for a highly customizable reading experience.