A reader from Minnesota recently emailed me to ask which markup language is best used for a Mobile Web site targeting smartphones:

My company is building an academic iPhone application (showing completed classes, current classes, grades, etc.). We also want to build a Mobile Web site that surfaces this information. If we only want to support smartphone Web browsers, should we use HTML or XHTML-MP?

My preference is to always use XHTML-MP (XHTML Mobile Profile). HTML is too unstructured for mobile devices. XHTML is a better choice, but can be considered "desktop markup" by some services in the mobile ecosystem, potentially subjecting the site to transcoding and exclusion from indexes of Mobile Web sites.

Web browsers in iPhone, Palm webOS, Android and other smartphones will render HTML and XHTML without problems, but if you stick with XHTML-MP, you also achieve built-in compatibility with a greater variety of Internet-capable mobile devices. Using XHTML-MP also allows crawlers for mobile search engines to easily recognize your content as mobile-optimized. In my experience, the Web development goal of "only supporting smartphones" almost always broadens to "supporting all Web-savvy mobile browsers", which are installed on a rapidly increasing percentage of low-end and free featurephones. You set your Mobile Web site up for broader compatibility if you stick with XHTML-MP.

If you must use XHTML or HTML for a Mobile Web site targeting smartphones, then be sure to embed mobile META tags into the markup. The Viewport, HandheldFriendly and MobileOptimized META tags identify Web documents authored in desktop-optimized markup languages as optimized and intended for mobile devices.

Beginning Smartphone Web Development, my first Mobile Web development book, is completed, at press and expected in bookstores by December 31,
2009. The book is published by Apress as a part of their Wireless titles.

I am proud of this book because it is a comprehensive introduction to Mobile Web development for developers with no prior mobility experience. This book is for you if you are a Web developer who wants to break into Mobile Web development, if you are a Web designer wondering “what works” on the Mobile Web, and if you are a technology executive wanting to craft a smartphone Web strategy with realistic expectations of browser capabilities.

See the Beginning Smartphone Web Development book details page to review the table of contents, source code samples and author and reviewer biographies.

In Beginning Smartphone Web Development, you’ll learn to:

• Identify web traffic from mobile devices.
• Develop web sites using the markup languages of the Mobile Web: XHTML, XHTML-MP and CSS.
• Add Mobile JavaScript and AJAX to increase client-side web interactivity on smartphones.
• Adapt the syntax and design of Mobile Web pages to target smartphone models.
• Study the design and usability of high-traffic Mobile Web sites.
• Design Mobile Web pages for optimal usability on the form factors of smartphone screens.
• Enhance Mobile Web pages to target advanced features of smartphone browsers.
• Validate and compress mobile markup to optimize for network transmission and browser performance.
• Simulate smartphones in the mobile ecosystem.
• Read Mobile Web growth forecasts and opinions from Mobile Web technology experts.

My co-author, Rajesh Lal, contributed a strong chapter about Mobile Web design and usability for smartphones.

I am seeking interviews with real-world Mobile Web developers for a series of articles about what it really takes to build and deploy a high-traffic, content adaptive and standards-compliant Mobile Web site. Volunteers are encouraged!

Are you an in-the-trenches Mobile Web developer? Have you successfully navigated technology and deployment challenges to release a Mobile Web site? Do you have advice and strategies that you’d like to share with the mobile developer community? Please contact me and include a link to the mobile site.

The articles will be posted here and possibly re-published at other technical blogs and magazines.

Update: I found an excellent technical reviewer for the book. Thank you for the interest! I have kept all your names for future project consideration.

I am looking for a technical reviewer for my forthcoming Mobile Web Development book schedule for release in December 2009. This is a paid position with the book publisher.

You must be an expert in mobile web development technologies across the spectrum of mobile devices – from low-end legacy markup like WML to HTML/JS/AJAX and WebKit extensions for smartphones – including WURFL and content adaptation concepts. You must understand the oddities of the mobile ecosystem. You must also have an excellent command of the English language. No prior tech reviewing experience is required.

Ideally, you are located somewhat near Portland, OR to leave open the possibility of in-person collaboration.

Please send your qualifications to me via email if interested.