Why does Google search default to xhtml?

[JudgeHolden]

Hey, sorry if this has been asked but I haven't found it via search:


When I search via Google it will serve me a mobile formatted page of whatever link I click on, rather than taking me to the link itself. This can be infuriating. Worse, sometimes it doesn't do that - instead it has me download x.xhtml, which has no pictures and no valid links, nor does it have the "see the full version of this page" on the bottom.

I don't want the Googleized mobile versions, I want to go directly to whatever link I click on. My web settings show to identify me as the desktop version, but it doesn't help.

I know, the answer is probably "stop using Google," eh?

 

[Speebs]

Hey, sorry if this has been asked but I haven't found it via search:


When I search via Google it will serve me a mobile formatted page of whatever link I click on, rather than taking me to the link itself. This can be infuriating. Worse, sometimes it doesn't do that - instead it has me download x.xhtml, which has no pictures and no valid links, nor does it have the "see the full version of this page" on the bottom.

I don't want the Googleized mobile versions, I want to go directly to whatever link I click on. My web settings show to identify me as the desktop version, but it doesn't help.

I know, the answer is probably "stop using Google," eh?

Seriously, it ****ing sucks, and the "show full version" link never works for me either. I can't get anything done and unfortunately sometimes Bing just isn't as good. Infuriating.

 

[anon(5335877)]

Weird, I could have sworn that months ago, there was an option of whether you want the full page, or the mobile formatted version. So I believe I changed that setting, and it worked fine. Then recently, I couldn't find that setting anymore, and now when you're on the mobile version of Google, any search result link you click on takes you to a Google formatted mobile version of the page, but you could scroll down to the bottom and hit "show full version." So that's what I did until maybe a couple weeks ago, when now all it does is give me this xhtml deal.

So now I use the classic version of Google, where you'd always be taken to the full version of any search result. Annoying, because whenever I type google.com, it defaults to mobile and I have to click classic.

 

[neurozero]

Found a solution!

So this has been driving me crazy too! Basically it meant that Google search was broken on my Windows Phone 7 because of the search results coming in xhtml. (See what I did there - that sentence should show up well for people searching for this issue .) But I think I've found a solution as of this morning, right after I found this post; something one of you said made me think to look for a way to contact Google about it.

Since the early days of WP7, I've been using an app called "Google Search". I think that app is now defunct; I can't even find it in the marketplace anymore. Go to Marketplace and search for "Google" and an app will come up that is just named "Google". That app works perfectly for me!

Funny that both that old Google Search app and the browser version of Google search default to that useless xhtml crap!

Let me know how it goes for you guys!

P.S. I actually found that Bing is a lot better these days compared to when I first got my Windows and installed the Google Search app immediately because Bing didn't give back a single useful result.

P.P.S. Since I'm pushing Bing a little here I should tell you that I work for Microsoft, though not on the WP or Bing teams!

 

[neurozero]

So this has been driving me crazy too! Basically it meant that Google search was broken on my Windows Phone 7 because of the search results coming in xhtml. (See what I did there - that sentence should show up well for people searching for this issue .) But I think I've found a solution as of this morning, right after I found this post; something one of you said made me think to look for a way to contact Google about it.

Since the early days of WP7, I've been using an app called "Google Search". I think that app is now defunct; I can't even find it in the marketplace anymore. Go to Marketplace and search for "Google" and an app will come up that is just named "Google". That app works perfectly for me!

Funny that both that old Google Search app and the browser version of Google search default to that useless xhtml crap!

Let me know how it goes for you guys!

P.S. I actually found that Bing is a lot better these days compared to when I first got my Windows and installed the Google Search app immediately because Bing didn't give back a single useful result.

P.P.S. Since I'm pushing Bing a little here I should tell you that I work for Microsoft, though not on the WP or Bing teams!

Go figure... now the old Google Search app is working for me again... weird!

 

[anon(5335877)]

So actually what I figured out is if your setting for website preference in IE is set to desktop, when you go to google.com, it takes you to the crappy mobile version where your search results are converted to a mobile format by Google, giving you the stupid xhtml thing.

If your website preference is set to mobile, it'll take you to the latest mobile Google website--the one that we're all used to the shows your location, says you can pin Google to your start screen, and shows restaurants, coffee, bars, and ATMs at the bottom.