Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0 (original) (raw)

  1. [THEMATIC_CONSISTENCY] Ensure that content provided by accessing a URI yields a thematically coherent experience when accessed from different devices.
  2. [CAPABILITIES] Exploit device capabilities to provide an enhanced user experience.
  3. [DEFICIENCIES] Take reasonable steps to work around deficient implementations.
  4. [TESTING] Carry out testing on actual devices as well as emulators.
  5. [URIS] Keep the URIs of site entry points short.
  6. [NAVBAR] Provide only minimal navigation at the top of the page.
  7. [BALANCE] Take into account the trade-off between having too many links on a page and asking the user to follow too many links to reach what they are looking for.
  8. [NAVIGATION] Provide consistent navigation mechanisms.
  9. [ACCESS_KEYS] Assign access keys to links in navigational menus and frequently accessed functionality.
  10. [LINK_TARGET_ID] Clearly identify the target of each link.
  11. [LINK_TARGET_FORMAT] Note the target file's format unless you know the device supports it.
  12. [IMAGE_MAPS] Do not use image maps unless you know the device supports them effectively.
  13. [POP_UPS] Do not cause pop-ups or other windows to appear and do not change the current window without informing the user.
  14. [AUTO_REFRESH] Do not create periodically auto-refreshing pages, unless you have informed the user and provided a means of stopping it.
  15. [REDIRECTION] Do not use markup to redirect pages automatically. Instead, configure the server to perform redirects by means of HTTP 3xx codes.
  16. [EXTERNAL_RESOURCES] Keep the number of externally linked resources to a minimum.
  17. [SUITABLE] Ensure that content is suitable for use in a mobile context.
  18. [CLARITY] Use clear and simple language.
  19. [LIMITED] Limit content to what the user has requested.
  20. [PAGE_SIZE_USABLE] Divide pages into usable but limited size portions.
  21. [PAGE_SIZE_LIMIT] Ensure that the overall size of page is appropriate to the memory limitations of the device.
  22. [SCROLLING] Limit scrolling to one direction, unless secondary scrolling cannot be avoided.
  23. [CENTRAL_MEANING] Ensure that material that is central to the meaning of the page precedes material that is not.
  24. [GRAPHICS_FOR_SPACING] Do not use graphics for spacing.
  25. [LARGE_GRAPHICS] Do not use images that cannot be rendered by the device. Avoid large or high resolution images except where critical information would otherwise be lost.
  26. [USE_OF_COLOR] Ensure that information conveyed with color is also available without color.
  27. [COLOR_CONTRAST] Ensure that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast.
  28. [BACKGROUND_IMAGE_READABILITY] When using background images make sure that content remains readable on the device.
  29. [PAGE_TITLE] Provide a short but descriptive page title.
  30. [NO_FRAMES] Do not use frames.
  31. [STRUCTURE] Use features of the markup language to indicate logical document structure.
  32. [TABLES_SUPPORT] Do not use tables unless the device is known to support them.
  33. [TABLES_NESTED] Do not use nested tables.
  34. [TABLES_LAYOUT] Do not use tables for layout.
  35. [TABLES_ALTERNATIVES] Where possible, use an alternative to tabular presentation.
  36. [NON-TEXT_ALTERNATIVES] Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element.
  37. [OBJECTS_OR_SCRIPT] Do not rely on embedded objects or script.
  38. [IMAGES_SPECIFY_SIZE] Specify the size of images in markup, if they have an intrinsic size.
  39. [IMAGES_RESIZING] Resize images at the server, if they have an intrinsic size.
  40. [VALID_MARKUP] Create documents that validate to published formal grammars.
  41. [MEASURES] Do not use pixel measures and do not use absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values.
  42. [STYLE_SHEETS_USE] Use style sheets to control layout and presentation, unless the device is known not to support them.
  43. [STYLE_SHEETS_SUPPORT] Organize documents so that if necessary they may be read without style sheets.
  44. [STYLE_SHEETS_SIZE] Keep style sheets small.
  45. [MINIMIZE] Use terse, efficient markup.
  46. [CONTENT_FORMAT_SUPPORT] Send content in a format that is known to be supported by the device.
  47. [CONTENT_FORMAT_PREFERRED] Where possible, send content in a preferred format.
  48. [CHARACTER_ENCODING_SUPPORT] Ensure that content is encoded using a character encoding that is known to be supported by the device.
  49. [CHARACTER_ENCODING_USE] Indicate in the response the character encoding being used.
  50. [ERROR_MESSAGES] Provide informative error messages and a means of navigating away from an error message back to useful information.
  51. [COOKIES] Do not rely on cookies being available.
  52. [CACHING] Provide caching information in HTTP responses.
  53. [FONTS] Do not rely on support of font related styling.
  54. [MINIMIZE_KEYSTROKES] Keep the number of keystrokes to a minimum.
  55. [AVOID_FREE_TEXT] Avoid free text entry where possible.
  56. [PROVIDE_DEFAULTS] Provide pre-selected default values where possible.
  57. [DEFAULT_INPUT_MODE] Specify a default text entry mode, language and/or input format, if the device is known to support it.
  58. [TAB_ORDER] Create a logical order through links, form controls and objects.
  59. [CONTROL_LABELLING] Label all form controls appropriately and explicitly associate labels with form controls.
  60. [CONTROL_POSITION] Position labels so they lay out properly in relation to the form controls they refer to.