NEW YORK: Major wireless and internet companies have agreed on a set of 60 guidelines for developers on design of websites that are easy to use on cellphones with their smaller browsers and keypads.
The 30 companies, which have come together as a group under the aegis of Worldwide Web Consortium, or W3C, include Nokia, Vodafone Group Plc. and Google Inc.
A document outlining the guidelines and best practices for the developers and content providers was released Tuesday. It specified that the idea is to create a single Web, not a separate one designed specifically for mobile devices.
Almost all the new generation cellphones come with web browsers, but only a small percentage of mobile phone users -- just 19 per cent in the U.S. -- use the phones to surf the internet. This is mainly because most of the websites are not compatible for cellphones. The group hopes to improve on this percentage through these guidelines on designing websites that are easy to use on cellphones.
A Vodafone official, Daniel Applequist, said a majority of websites does not work well on cellphones. Making the websites more navigable on cellphones could attract more users, he said.
The guidelines include lesser use of graphics and pop-up ad facilities, which are found to clutter the phone screens, and positioning content at the top of the screens, to avoid scrolling. The guidelines also advise the developers on avoiding use of cookies while designing the websites as cookies do not work on cellphones.
