September 2006 saw the widespread launch of the .mobi top-level domain extension, a domain designed specifically to host mobile Web site content. And with the launch of the domain came the introduction of a set of standards for operating a mobile Web site.
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With an expected increase in mobile Internet usage, the domain's operator mTLD set out to enforce compatibility among .mobi sites by releasing a set of standards for mobile Web sites, designed to eliminate slow-loading and difficult-to-navigate pages.
The Web Developers Guide, located on the mTLD Web site, is the first in a series of Switch On! Guides published by mTLD, which contain a mixture of mandatory and recommended best practices for developing mobile content.
According to the guide, the first rule Web site developers should heed is to code a valid XHTML Mobile Profile, meaning that when the domain is accessed using the second-level domain, such as example.mobi, or a second and third-level domain, such as de.example.mobi, the response must be encoded in XHTML Mobile Profile mark-up language, unless the device is known to support alternative mark-up technology.
Other mandatory guidelines say that sites must be set up so that the Web server responds to requests at the second level domain (example.mobi), since keying "www" using a telephone keypad can be difficult. And sites using the .mobi domain may not use frames under any circumstances.
The guide continues with a list of best practices developers are recommended to follow, looking at overall behavior of the site, navigation and links, page layout and content, page definition and user input.
The key to building a mobile site is to keep it simple. Use clear and concise language, limit content to what the user has requested, provide a short, descriptive page title, limit scrolling to one direction, avoid pop-ups and keep user keystrokes to a minimum by avoiding free text entry when possible.
To help Web site builders stick to .mobi standards, several companies are offering site-building tools specifically designed to create mobile-formatted Web sites.
Web site building and content management solutions provider Akmin (akmin.com) recently launched mobiSiteGalore (mobisitegalore.com) a mobile Web site building version of its SiteGalore product.
The tool can be used for free to design sites and publish them using an FTP login to a user's Web host.
Domain registrar and Web hosting provider GoDaddy (godaddy.com) and many of its resellers offer a .mobi-compliant Web site building tool through the company's site builder, WebSite Tonight. GoDaddy says its site-building tool is designed for non-experienced developers, and customers can choose from three WebSite Tonight plans starting from $4.99 per month.
Web hosting provider Hostway (hostway.com) also offers a tool aimed at building .mobi Web sites called The Mobile Business SiteBuilder. Hostway says its product offers a quick, step-by-step process and enables users to create a six-page mobile Web site for $39.95 per year.
Once a .mobi domain is registered, and a Web site built, designers can test their work for mobile compatibility on mTLD's MobiReady Report test. By entering the site's URL into the mTLD's tool, users are served a rating illustrating the site's compatibility with the mobile standards issued by the registry.
The tool gives a good representation of the kind of audits mTLD performs on registered .mobi pages. Domains found to be non-compliant are given 60 days, and several notifications, to pass muster. After 60 days, domains are suspended until standards are met.
