Do you like any .mobi sites? Why would you create a .mobi site instead of a mobile app? Have you built any of these sites?

I searched this on the message boards and did not see anything, point me to it if I missed this before...

Thanks,

Jacki

.mobi is just a domain type, just like .com, .net etc.

You can build web-applications that will fit on a mobile screen.
Or build your site normally for a desktop, then, if it's coded cleanly enough you just use a CSS file to reduce it to fit on a mobile device. This is usually not feasible for large projects, but for basic content sites it's pretty easy to do.

I would suggest building an app if you can, mainly because of the touchscreen functionality. Mouse clicks and onclick events work as normal, but dragging elements or hovering over elements doesn't work as well on mobile devices, so an app for that device would make the UI nicer and the UX better.

Thanks Ramsez,

I want to build a project especially for mobile and thought I can build it myself in Dreamweaver and just get some help with database work. As opposed to an app, which I would have to hire a programmer for entirely, and would need for every change.

For marketing purposes, I like the idea of SEO that apps would not give me either.

I have heard of just using a separate CSS but this project is really for mobile so I thought the specs required for .mobi would help, not hinder me. It will be faster to just design for the one format, not have to constantly test everything in both.

I just do not hear of people using mobi's, do you? Is it getting more prevelant? Maybe we are just a little behind Japan on this, like with general mobile interactivity?

This morning, I read an interesting article by a South African developer as to why he prefers mobile Web sites rather than apps. The article is at http://www.itweb.co.z....

In terms of resources, may I suggest checking out http://mobiThinking.c..., which is a free online marketing idea book to help you get a better sense of what (and how) brands are handling mobile?

The dotMobi company (who are behind the .mobi domain) also has a free -- and extensive -- developers forum at http://mobiForge.mobi... it has almost 40,000 members who are building made-for-mobile content.

And in case you think you're alone in thinking about .mobi, here's a list of big brands who are building made-for-mobile Web sites (not just apps) and advertising them: http://dotmobi.mobi/c....

Thanks Vance, this should keep me busy for a while.