Mobile Web defined in terms of Markup Language

Paul Bennett — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:52:02 +0000

The ‘Mobile Web’ consists [ mostly ] of three types of Markup Language that we need to know about:

WML (often called WAP 1.0) - based on XML - a content formatting standard.

xHTML Mobile Profile (often called WAP 2.0) - derived from xHTML 1.1 Basic but with additional modules.

cHTML or Compact HTML (often called iMode) - uses a subset of the standard HTML 2.0, 3.2 or 4.0 specifications.

A page coded in one of the above Markup Standards would normally identify itself in the DTD. Mobile user agents (browser and crawler) will look for this ‘mobile’ page declaration. Example:

"http://www.openmobilealliance.org/tech/DTD/xhtml-mobile11.dtd">

Google Mobile Web crawls only content declared as mobile compliant - hence a different index and a different set of search results.

Google Web (on a mobile) uses the regular datacentre indexes - where results match the desktop.

Step 1 - Choosing a Domain

Paul Bennett — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:51:41 +0000

First things first — I need to choose a route to the mobile web and I have identified three options to discuss, each tangent with its own merits.

1. Choose my mTLD from dotMobi, e.g. mobile-seo.mobi
2. Add a subdomain to the existing root, e.g. mobi.mobile-seo.co.uk
3. Use CSS to support mobile pages from www.mobile-seo.co.uk

Let’s discuss.

Some might say that Option 1 [ dot mobi domain ] would allow me to affectively label my site as mobile compatible.

“dotMobi is designed to guide mobile users to made-for-mobile internet content and services that can be accessed with ease and confidence”

Unfortunatley I still believe that there’s a stigma surrounding newer TLD’s — where the uptake has been minimal. Consumers are just more damn comfortable with dot com / dot co uk domains. Additionally dot mobi does not automatically equal standards compliant and mobile friendly.

Option 2 [ mobi subdomain ] also begs a separate site build — which you could argue will give me more control over coding pages aimed at ranking in mobile search. Faced with managing two sites, I could look to save time by promoting just one URL [ most likely www ] — by identifying mobile User Agents and subsequently landing those visitors on my mobile pages. However, despite some advantages, my marketing head still doesn’t sit comfortably with this ‘double life’ effect on any future brand.

Although still requiring browser string detection, Option 3 [ alternative CSS on www ] would also allow me to deliver content designed for mobile screens — single column, lightweight, with intuitive navigation — at the same time satisfying my single mindedness.

So what of WAP I here you ask, for here lies a debate. Undoubtedly WAP will get left behind as more and more mobile devices ship with xHTML compliant browsers. But should mobile developers cater for older handsets in the meantime?

To answer that question my vote goes partly to Option 2, where I propose to use a separate subdomain to cover WAP [ wap.mobile-seo.co.uk ] — something I can discontinue later — but mostly my vote goes to Option 3.

I’ve made this choice, contradictory to some opinions, because I believe that consumers want access to the same world-wide web — whatever environment they happen to find themselves in; social, professional, at the desk, or on the move. And I also believe that influential brands will not dilute their online presence with alternate mobile URLs but will strive to understand how to deliver the mobile experience.

In Step 2 — I shall be discussing mobile browser detection.

mobile SEO » Basics

Mobile Web defined in terms of Markup Language

Step 1 - Choosing a Domain