iPhone Web Developer Guidelines


iPhone Web Development GuidelinesApple iPhone will have passed its 1 millionth subscriber by now. If you’re a Web developer or someone just curious about how your blog or Web pages will function in iPhone, then you must read Apple’s Development Guidelines for iPhone. Web developers using the Windows platform were delighted with the public beta release of Safari for Windows. At last, they won’t be relying on browser screen shot services anymore to test their layouts.

On the other hand, with the release of iPhone there will be new opportunities for those who want to boost their blog readership and Web site traffic. Safari is also the Web browser used by the device. Apple said that those Web pages that rendered correctly in the desktop version of Safari will most likely display correctly in Safari on iPhone. However, there are changes that need to be considered and it won’t be that easy. According to the iPhone Development Guidelines, one will need to have an understanding of Web standards and established Web design best practices to provide the visitors of his/her blog or Web site with a great user experience.

The iPhone Development Guidelines listed some tips. Please visit the page to gain more information:

  • Understand User-iPhone Interaction
  • Use Standards and Tried-and-True Design Practices
  • Integrate with Phone, Mail, and Maps
  • Optimize for Page Readability
  • Ensure a Great Audio and Video Experience
  • Know What Safari Supports on iPhone
  • Connect With Web Developers


Just a heads up (from the iPhone Development Guidelines):

  • iPhone users supply their own input device — two fingers (no mouse pointer).
  • Safari on iPhone doesn’t have windows; it has a fixed viewport.
  • Supports all the latest modern web standards.
  • An option to provide conditional CSS for iPhone.
  • Doesn’t support Flash and the FLV format as well as Java.
  • By default, Safari on iPhone blocks pop-up windows.

In addition, Safari on iPhone doesn’t support:

  • window.showModalDialog()
  • Mouse-over events
  • Hover styles
  • Tool tips
  • Plug-in installation
  • Custom x.509 certificates

iPhone Web Simulator for Designers

As far as visuals are concerned, a free software (currently available for Mac OS X) called iPhoney enables Web developers and designers to test their Web pages on a screen resolution compatible with iPhone. From the Web site:

iPhoney is not an iPhone simulator but instead is designed for web developers who want to create 320 by 480 (or 480 by 320) websites for use with iPhone.

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 6th, 2007 at 4:16 and is filed under Web Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “iPhone Web Developer Guidelines”

  1. Beta3 Says:
    July 6th, 2007 at 12:29

    I thought iPhone sucks :P . Atleast Digg says so. Just search iPhone and 90% of the results will be -ve feedbacks..

  2. James Soh Says:
    July 6th, 2007 at 14:30

    Hey Beta3,

    I depends on what you expect of the phone really. I think Apple got many of the things right that many other Major Phone makers should sit up and look hard!

    Of course it has it’s draw back and I am concern with the call quality but style wise, ease of use is excellent!

    I don’t need 3G, MMS or a ton of other features but I do take pictures and view them on the phone. And my current nokia is too slow for that.

    The current web browsers on the mobiles are not up to standard and this is where the iPhone shines :)

    It is not perfect but very close to what I need, closer then most existing phones out there.

    So I wouldn’t say it suck! :)

  3. Gabriel Says:
    July 6th, 2007 at 22:46

    Haha! It could be because of the media hype even before it was released. My feed reader was full of that a week before iPhone’s release.

    But I admit that iPhone is a revolutionary smart phone. Smart phones have been around for a while but they weren’t as good as Steve Jobs’ idea.

  4. Should I Purchase an iPhone? at iUseApple Says:
    July 15th, 2007 at 0:31

    [...] Apple opened up Third Party Development for the iPhone only weeks before it’s release. This blog post details the guidelines I would have to know to design an Application for the iPhone. [...]

  5. estetik Says:
    April 2nd, 2008 at 20:45

    Thanks for such a nice page. Iphone is the best I think.

  6. Kris Lee Says:
    April 11th, 2008 at 23:19

    Top five shortcomings of the why iphone sucks? according to Newlaunches:
    1. 2-megapixel camera when others have 5-megapixel shooters on board
    2. 5-hour talk time: not enough battery life
    3. No expansion slot. Go for the 8-gig model and that’s it.
    4. No 3G: EDGE is so last year
    5. No removable battery: You mean we can’t take along a spare battery? WTF?

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