Nearly three-quarters of people are avoiding the mobile internet because of high costs and poor experiences of the technology, according to new research published today. The findings highlight the need for firms to develop mobile-compatible web sites, said experts.

In a survey of 1,500 UK consumers by web hosting firm Hostway, over a third of respondents said they were frustrated by slow-loading web pages. A quarter said they did not use mobile devices for access because often the web sites they wanted was not available. Others complained that it was too difficult to scroll and navigate their way through web pages via mobiles and PDAs.

"The experience isn't good enough – we're in the dark ages compared to desktop browsing," said Hostway product manager Phil Turnbull. "Firms should take [the design of their mobile web sites] every bit as seriously, and because they have to be more ruthless about how the site is designed it's potentially a greater challenge."
Mobile domain operator DotMobi has published guidelines to develop mobile-friendly sites, based on W3C standards, and also provides open-source tools for site creation and testing. It is also developing training schemes and certification for developers and content providers, to be available next year.

Alexa Raad of DotMobi said, "An industry-wide effort [will] enable mobile-friendly sites, encourage training for and innovation from developers and content providers, educate users, and persuade operators to offer mass market pricing on data services."

DotMobi's also provides its Switch On Guides for web development. Meanwhile, registrars such as GoDaddy are also planning site-creation tools for buyers of .mobi domain names, said Raad. "I expect gradual improvement over the next two years as education and tools are disseminated in the marketplace, and the playing field evens out in favour of content providers and, ultimately, consumers," she added.