Here are some of the most common issues & questions that we hear from our users

Choose Screen

I can't seem to pick the content I want!

• Try picking smaller blocks and use the Grow/Expand button to capture more content
• It's OK to pick more content than needed, as you will have chance to eliminate it during the Design step or through the CSS display:none control

What happens to Flash? AJAX?

• As desktop Flash content is not supported but almost all phones, it is not included in the Mobile View or shown in Choose
• One exception is YouTube Flash videos. They are transcoded to thumbnails linking on YouTube on older phones or resized to fit the screen on the iPhone

Is it possible to add mobile content that is not present on the source site?

• Yes, arbitrary HTML can be added through Header/Footer and Insert Content controls in Design view
• A popular technique is adding directions, contact information and maps to the mobile view
• Consider adding new mobile-specific functionality by creating new pages on the source site and only using those pages in the mobile view

My page shows up differently in Mobify than it does in a Web Browser. Why?

• Mobify strips JavaScript from the source site so it might be missing some of effects and menus. It is possible to add some JavaScript elements, like Google Analytics, during the Design step.

Design Screen

I've picked images during Choose but they don't show up in Design View!

• The image was likely displayed through a CSS background property, as opposed to the img tag. Feel free to insert it as a static asset using Insert Content or create a new CSS background property in the Design view (might not work on older phones)

Is there a separate style sheet for all the different pages?

• The mobile stylesheet is shared between all pages in the mobile view. There is also a small "reset" stylesheet applied to the content in order to reset default margin and padding properties on various devices.

Is the preview on different mobile devices accurate?

• The iPhone preview is fairly close to the actual on-device rendering. The rest of the previews reflect the HTML served by Mobify to the appropriate devices, but can't guarantee the exact look & feel.

How is CSS seen here relate to the CSS of the source website?

• Mobify attempts to create a stylesheet based on the source CSS the first time the URL is entered. Color, font size and other critical properties are kept intact, while most desktop-specific instructions are dropped. After this, there is no relation between mobile CSS and the source CSS.

Manage Screen

Are all three deployment steps mandatory?

• The mobile view is functional immediately at the temporary URL. However, due to branding and SEO purposes we highly recommend completing all three steps.
• Automated redirects are particularly important as they often show a 10x+ improvement in mobile traffic.

Do I have to make a template for every page on my website?

• Mobify learns from the pages you've worked on and tries to apply the same mobile content preferences to subsequent pages. Unless all of your site's pages have different DOM structure, it's likely that you only have to select content for 5-10 templates, which shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.

What are some limitations of the JavaScript redirect?

• JavaScript is still a relatively new feature on mobile that works best on newer smart phones with faster connections (iPhone, Android, Palm Pre, Nokia S60). We recommend using it while promoting the m.yoursite.com URL. More server-side redirection options coming soon!

Any plans for WordPress, Drupal, Expression Engine plug-ins?

• Definitely - coming very, very soon!

Architecture

Will the content automatically update on mobile when the source site is updated?

• Yes! Mobify respects the cache headers of the source site, so there could be a slight delay.

Is the content of the source site duplicated?

• Never! What you're actually seeing is the source site, remixed by Mobify for mobile use. There is no separate mobile site or a duplicate workflow.

Does Mobify have sufficient capacity for bigger sites?

• Our resource-intensive operations are offloaded to cloud computing services, guaranteeing high throughput for even the most high-traffic web properties.

Mobile Devices

How many devices are supported?

• Mobify uses DeviceAtlas which has a database of 4000+ mobile devices. Images are formatted to fit the screen sizes and some features are transcoded based on the capabilities of a particular device.

What kind of optimizations take place for various phones?

• The biggest optimization is your content selection and styling preferences. We find that even older mobile browsers benefit immensely from reduced amount of content and simplified styling. YouTube Videos and images are resized to provide for the best possible viewing experience

How often do you add new phones?

• Newly released phones are added to the database on a monthly or a daily basis, depending on the pricing plan for a mobile view.

SEO

What is the SEO impact of Mobify?

• Positive! Content is not duplicated, and the link structure is maintained. Top mobile properties like Digg, Facebook, CNN, use m. URLs.

What about mobile search?

• Search engines are increasingly favouring m. domains when showing search results on mobile. Make sure you have the m. redirect set up to gain this advantage!

How does Mobify play with Twitter?

• Mobify matches the link structure of the source site 1:1. In case your mobile readers click a link on Twitter or another social service they will go straight to the mobile view for that content (assuming that you've set up an automated redirect).

Legal

Who owns the mobile view?

• The copyright holder maintains full ownership of the content. When the content is cached by Mobify, it is done for performance reasons only and mirrors the cache settings of the site itself.

Is it possible to create a mobile view for somebody else's site?

• As per our Terms of Service, all content is the property of the copyright holder. Please, do not create mobile views without approval of the rights holder.

Do you offer an SLA or an uptime guarantee?

• We're proud of our 99.9%+ uptime. Contact us if you require a formal SLA.