W3C MobileOK Basic Tests go to candidate recommendation

Regular readers of this blog will know all about the Mobile Web Best Practices (MWBP). Paul’s previous post on the subject raised a few hackles and sparked a lengthy debate. I don’t propose to revisit the Mobile Web vs Mobile Internet debate in this post but, rather, raise peoples awareness about the MobileOK (MOK) Basic Test cases which are about to be published as a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Candidate Recommendation.

MOK is a claim that anyone can make if their Web site conforms to a defined subset of MWBPs. It comes in 2 flavors, Basic and Professional.

MOK Basic is a series of machine determinable tests and demonstrates that a Web site owner has made reasonable steps to create a mobile friendly user experience.

MOK Pro covers the best practices which are not necessarily machine testable. These are not yet available for public review.

W3C Candidate Recommendation means that the Mobile Web Inititiative (MWI) Working Group is happy with the document as it stands and is publishing it with the goal of getting real world implementation experience.

The MWI Working group has a task force who is charged with delivering a tool for checking MOK Basic conformance. This tool is currently in alpha and can be found here. Try it out yourself and see if your Web site is MOK compliant.

In my next post I’ll commentate on the test cases for the MobileOK Professional Trustmark which I’m heavily involved with. Making conformance claims to both levels of MobileOK will come in the form of a Content Label (AKA POWDER to the W3C).