Apple has published guidelines for developing web content for the iPhone. Some of the guidelines are just good practice (separating HTML, Javascript and CSS, for instance). Some of it is informational (how many pixels you can expect to be available in the iPhone - at least, in this version of it). Some of it is very iPhone-specific (META tags to help control the viewport and scaling).

The article also includes guidelines for encoding audio and video for access over EDGE and Wifi networks.

The iPhone runs a slimmed down version of Apple’s desktop browser “Safari” - you get real HTML, Javascript and CSS support, and it can do Ajax. In my few days with an iPhone I haven’t found any web sites that simply didn’t work on it, including Javascript-heavy sites like Flickr.

Some things the iPhone doesn’t support:

• Flash
• Hover styles
• Java
• Tool tips
• Mouse-over events

Why develop for a device that’s only a week old? Because you have one million new users awaiting you, all waiting to use your web site while they should be paying attention to their dinner companions or watching the road while they’re driving!

Via: Apple Developer Connection - iPhone for Web Developers - Optimizing Web Applications and Content for iPhone
[tags]iphone, apple, safari, css, javascript, ajax, mobile[/tags]

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