JToneyUK

Hi folks, I just wanted to engage a few ideas on this issue which I think should not really exist, but then again, since when did business owners see sense?

I recently had a meeting with a major charity in my area about developing a mobile version of their website. One of the things that came up was basically if it was possible to pull content from their pages on the desktop website and simply put it into the mobile framework.

While this is no doubt doable, it would be very time consuming, especially if their current system uses a custom CMS system specially for the company, as this charity does.

We did discuss the difference about mobile and desktop sites, being slimmed down version with less images etc etc but the above method seemed to be what the woman ideally wanted to do.

Maybe it is down to use as the professionals to talk sense into the business owners and explain that they SHOULD be 2 standalone sites which are interlinked by redrection scripts.

I just wondered if anyone else had come across this issue and if you had any decent solutions?

I.e could you maybe pull content from a database, strip out images and then display the text in a new framework?

Or could you simply use a mobile.CSS file which obviously you can alter the layout?

Nail Yener

I haven't come across this issue yet but this is quite understandable when you look from the website owner point of view. They want to serve the same content on both their desktop site and mobile site. Although this may not make sense in all cases, it is acceptable.

What I would do is to create a mobile optimized layout for their mobile site and pull the content from the database. But this depends on how complex their site is and what features they want on the mobile site.

You could also create a script something like WPtouch (WordPress plugin) that serves the same content but with different style.

WillR

If this is the way they want to go then probably using some type of responsive Wordpress theme is going to be easiest for you. Not ideal but easiest.

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GPLPress

Separate sites for Mobile Content will soon be a thing of the past. In late 2011 we saw a major push towards Responsive Web Design that we expect will really go mainstream in 2012.

For a while, Mobile Sites parallel to Desktop Sites were a (mostly) acceptable solution...then Tablets arrived...what now, 3 versions of every single website??

If Responsive is a new concept for you, this is a great short article with 60 examples of responsive sites:

60 Examples of Responsive Website Design | inspirationfeed.com

Responsive WordPress themes are just now starting to surface, but you can expect responsiveness to be the norm by the end of this year.

JToneyUK

Cheers folks, I was aware of these "responsive" wordpress themes and such. I take it they stack the different sections accordingly when the screen gets smaller. This still though could be an issue with certain websites, as Nail said above with their complexity.

Thanks for the suggestions anyway.

M Stacks

GPLPress is correct. Separate mobile sites are a temporary fix. Updating and maintaining two sites is terribly inefficient and a pain in the ass. Another huge issue is separate URLs for pages. What if someone wants to send a link while browsing the desktop site and whoever gets the link looks at it on a phone? And vice-versa? What about links from other places? Does your site serve up the wrong format or redirect them to the front page? Both far from optimal user experiences.

The future of the web is one site, one source of content, one URL for each resource. But displayed in the appropriate way, with the appropriate content, depending on the device accessing it.

A true responsive design (not a Wordpress theme) not only changes the layout for any device, but serves up different images, and when necessary, different content. This avoids devices downloading stuff they aren't going to use.

Yes, it is possible. No, it ain't easy. But this is what I do.

KingMedia

I think the main point that should be addressed here is what exactly do the want the visitor to do once they arrive on their mobile site. remember, attention spans are short - very short on phones.

the mobile site should be set up to create an action: tap to call, get directions, lead gen, directions, reviews, walk in the door, quick info.

perhaps your client needs to be educated that folks do short bursts of browsing when not on a wifi, so having a lot of content is a waste. give them the raw statistics of why. although doable, it's a waste of their money really. try that approach.

I'm not sure if they want some type of form or software to work on mobile too??

the technology is not here yet for hybrid templates. a few more yrs... the we can charge for adapting a whole new website that will be cross bred.