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[QUESTION] How are you guys uploading "mobile" websites for clients?

by LuxMan
10 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
    • |
In the given scenario, a prospective client already has a website - how do you go about creating and uploading their mobile version?

I'm about to start marketing mobile design services but I would be using wordpress themes; therefore it would require me to have access to their hosting/ftp account. A lot of times they're unaware of such info...

Do you ask them for all their hosting information? or do you go through their other designer? Just curious to know what steps you guys take...
#clients #guys #mobile #question #uploading #websites
  • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
    In my opinion, the best way to do this is to host it on your own server, and then charge them a small monthly hosting / maintenance fee. You will still need FTP access to their existing website to insert the mobile redirect code, obviously. Their existing web guy *could* easily do that part, of course, but you should try to keep their existing designer out of the equation if you can, for obvious reasons.

    By keeping everything on your own server, you have full control over everything, and it will be easier to update/maintain the site. And you can also offer to host their existing site on your server too. Find out what they are paying for their existing hosting/maintenance, and then make them a deal they can't refuse.
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  • Profile picture of the author rajeevrla
    Yea, most of times clients are not sure of the hosting account details. In this case, I ask them to forward the initial mail which they got from their hosting company(like hostgator) or Godaddy login details (if they are using Godaddy).
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  • Profile picture of the author LuxMan
    Brandon, that's a good idea with the mobile redirect; however, people will see a change in the URL? Meaning it wont be m.sitename.com?
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    • Profile picture of the author DeskCoder
      Originally Posted by LuxMan View Post

      Brandon, that's a good idea with the mobile redirect; however, people will see a change in the URL? Meaning it wont be m.sitename.com?
      I think most sites now do this (twitter goes to m.twitter) ... the only way around it is to create a responsive web design, but that would mean redesigning the whole site (kind of).

      I think all he is talking about is going from clientsdomain.com to m.clientsdomain.com. You can host different subdomains on different web servers.
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    • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
      Originally Posted by LuxMan View Post

      Brandon, that's a good idea with the mobile redirect; however, people will see a change in the URL? Meaning it wont be m.sitename.com?
      Correct. I think it's a non-issue, but if you want the mobile site to appear like it's on the same domain as the main site, you could create a new page on the regular site that frames the mobile site.

      @ DeskCoder... I didn't know you could host different subdomains on different servers. How would you configure the DNS to do that?
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      • Profile picture of the author DeskCoder
        Originally Posted by Brandon Tanner View Post

        I didn't know you could host different subdomains on different servers. How would you configure the DNS to do that?
        Yeah, all you need to do is configure the DNS. Add a new host entry (A) for the subdomain, and point it to a new IP address.

        http://i.imgur.com/XkR7h.png
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  • Profile picture of the author LuxMan
    Perhaps maybe a masking of the subdomain to a separate host? but I guess the masking will disappear if the website is on a different url?
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  • Profile picture of the author TopicSpan
    With out clients we get them to set up m.theirdomain.com as an A record pointing to one of our servers. And then on that server we add a new vhost for nginx, and it leaves us open to managing it. We use Andy Moore's excellent mobile browser detector (not an affiliate link), which is free for personal use or $70/year for unlimited sites, and then use that to redirect incoming users to m.domain.com.
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  • Profile picture of the author xtrapunch
    Latest trend is to use a responsive website rather than have a dedicated URL and website for mobile devices. Having a separate mobile site doesn't work in all scenarios now. How many websites will you create for devices such as iPhones, mobiles and iPads?

    * Ask for hosting and domain accounts info from your client. (They must have it or get it from their hosting company or previous web developer.)
    * Convert the existing WordPress theme into a responsive theme or use a WP plug-in to create a mobile-ready version automatically
    * Upload the theme or plug-in and activate it.
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    >> Web Design, Wordpress & SEO - XtraPunch.com <<
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    • Profile picture of the author TopicSpan
      Originally Posted by xtrapunch View Post

      Latest trend is to use a responsive website rather than have a dedicated URL and website for mobile devices. Having a separate mobile site doesn't work in all scenarios now. How many websites will you create for devices such as iPhones, mobiles and iPads?

      * Ask for hosting and domain accounts info from your client. (They must have it or get it from their hosting company or previous web developer.)
      * Convert the existing WordPress theme into a responsive theme or use a WP plug-in to create a mobile-ready version automatically
      * Upload the theme or plug-in and activate it.
      Plus 1 for responsive layouts CSS Media Queries are awesome!
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