A prospective partner may first open an asset brief on a phone, far from a desktop research setup. In Rajeev Khandelwal's digital ecosystem, that makes mobile presentation a substantive information issue. A table that shrinks until it becomes unreadable, or breaks into disconnected figures, can undermine the very comparison the platform intended to make clear for its reader.
The relationship is the content
A number means little without its row, column, unit and period. W3C's table guidance emphasises structural relationships that assistive technologies can use, a principle that also clarifies the design problem. The platform should preserve the meaning of those relationships when adapting a table, rather than treating the desktop arrangement as a picture that simply needs to fit within a narrower space.
Different tables need different treatment
A short comparison may work as labelled cards, while a larger dataset may need a clearly signposted horizontal view or a downloadable alternative. The decision should follow the reader's task. Converting every table to the same pattern can make one type easy to scan while destroying another's comparative value, especially where several measures must be considered together to understand the asset or product being described.
Keep the qualifications nearby
Dates, units and explanatory notes should remain connected to the figures they qualify. Moving them far below the content can change how a reader interprets a value. The platform should test realistic examples, including long labels and missing data, rather than judge the design only through a tidy demonstration that avoids the cases most likely to challenge a small screen.
A serious page travels well
Mobile access does not need to reduce the depth of the information. It needs to make the depth navigable. A well-designed table allows the reader to continue an informed assessment wherever they first encounter the platform, preserving the accuracy and care expected of an institutional presentation while making its evidence accessible beyond the ideal conditions of a large desktop display.
