W3C Releases Mobile Web Best Practices Guide

Surfing the Web on a mobile device may become easier thanks to a new set of standards approved by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The new set of rules and guidelines specify how Web sites should work and be viewed on portable devices are collectively called - “Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0.”

The standards offer instructions for creating the best user experience for accessing the Web from such devices as cell phones, smartphones, or PDAs. They include recommendations on such things as screen width, file size, navigation, and URL names. They also offer guidance on avoiding mobile Web sandtraps like page-scrolling and pop-ups.

The new standards could be a shot in the arm for the mobile Web. W3C, the guys behind HTML and CSS standards, is inviting designers to share their experiences in implementing the new guidelines to help overcome some of these limitations.

The W3C working group responsible for the new guidelines includes companies like AOL, France Telecom, Google, Microsoft, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Opera Software, and Vodafone. via SciTech