Yet another question about using WP for mobile sites...

I.M.Retired · 25th Oct 2012, 09:03 AM

I have read most of the threads here about the pros and cons of using wordpress for creating mobile sites for customers.

What I need to have clarified in 'no uncertain terms' is:

How much longer does it take a small wordpress mobile site to load on a smartphone as opposed to a site built from a php or html template?

I have customers who have wordpress sites and who would like the ease of using wordpress for their mobile sites. Most of these customers simply want to upload new images of their products, as most of the sites I work with are artists and crafts people.

Non of these people know anything about website design, but most have become quite okay with updating their wordpress sites.

Now they are asking me for a mobile version of their site - and they want a wordpress mobile site so they can manage it themselves.

I also want them to be able to manage it themselves as I don't want to get into the mobile site maintenance business.

And some who have contacted me don't want a standard site, they only want a quick mobile presence that they can update and maintain.

So - bottom line is - should I set up a mobile site for them using wordpress or not. How slow does a small wordpress mobile site actually load? (Keep in mind that I'm in a remote rural area and all sites load slowly, so it's hard for me to make an accurate evaluation.)

Thanks for your patience - and - please, send help!

ppc4profit · 25th Oct 2012, 10:01 AM

Unfortunately there is no definitive answer to your question. You mentioned yourself that you are in a remote rural area and that all sites load slowly, probably because you are on a slow connection. There are a lot of variables to take into account before you could have a guess at how fast or slow a side would load. The CPU power of the mobile phone, which browser it is using, how fast the connection is between the phone and the mobile network or is the customer using Wi.Fi to connect, and again what is the bandwidth of that connection.

All of the above come into play before the technology platform and coding in the website under consideration. HTML sites have the simplest coding, PHP sites have a very small server overhead as the PHP code needs to be interpreted before the site is displayed. I think that the concern over WordPress sites (which incidentally are coded in php) is that the underlying WordPress engine might be more complex than is required for a simple mobile site and incur a small amount of processing overhead before the site is displayed.

I think more of an issue in the speed of a mobile website is how large are the pages - what is the file size. Are they graphics rich with images which have not been optimised? Is there a lot of text. In short the larger the file size of the total page to be displayed the more time is required for that to be transmitted whether it be via a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection.

If you take all this into account, optimising your images and taking care not to reproduce too much text then your current customers should not have too much of an issue. One thing I would point out though is that customers accessing a site via a mobile phone might be in a different mindset that those accessing the site via a desktop PC. In this situation you can see that they would perhaps want different information and reproducing existing content and reproducing it for a mobile phone might not meet the needs of mobile customers. You will need to take a view on this.

Nail Yener · 25th Oct 2012, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by I.M.Retired

How much longer does it take a small wordpress mobile site to load on a smartphone as opposed to a site built from a php or html template?

The website loading speed depends on a lot of variables such as internet connection speed, server speed, code/script optimization and size of files loaded on the browser. I don't have any exact numbers but let's assume that on one hand you have a WordPress mobile site that is generated by a plugin or a mobile-friendly theme and on the other hand a very lightweight custom coded mobile site. Assume that they have identical layout and image/file sizes. In that case, the WordPress mobile version will take longer to load. But as I said it depends on many variables and it may not be very easy to notice the difference for the site in question.

Originally Posted by I.M.Retired

Non of these people know anything about website design, but most have become quite okay with updating their wordpress sites.

Now they are asking me for a mobile version of their site - and they want a wordpress mobile site so they can manage it themselves.

they only want a quick mobile presence that they can update and maintain.

In that case, I would make them a WordPress based mobile site and if possible, try to optimize the mobile version (whether created by a plugin or theme) as much as possible.

Why don't you give the WordPress mobile version a try and see how fast their site will load. Then you can ask people from other cities/locations to check its loading speed. If it seems to be not acceptable, then you explain your clients the situation and look for another solution.

I.M.Retired · 25th Oct 2012, 10:59 AM

Thanks to both of you for your responses. That is the type of information I was looking for.

(Nail: A while back I purchased some of your mobile templates and they were fantastic!)

(ppc4profit: Your site looks great. I am going to check it out in more detail later this afternoon. It looks like the type of thing my customers would prefer over Wordpress.)

What I am really working through here is considering whether or not to offer a mobile site design service using just Wordpress. There are other local businesses offering mobile sites based on all of the above methods mentioned above.

The reason I want to use Wordpress and nothing else is that my existing customers are already on Wordpress, and most are seniors, and all are able manage and update their sites themselves after an initial bit of coaching.

For those with existing sites, a mobile plugin is sufficient. For others, they want to have a small personal or business site that is strictly for mobile use - they don't want a larger site at all. Most are artists or crafters who simply want their information available via a mobile phone or tablet, with a click to call, contact info and a small sample of their work.

For that reason, I thought Wordpress would be best, as they can quickly and easily change their own images, post the dates of the local business shows they will be attending, etc.

So your answers have helped me figure things out. I don't want to get into a full blown mobile website design business - as you can see from my user name I, AM. Retired - or at least pretending to be, at the moment.

Nail Yener · 25th Oct 2012, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by I.M.Retired

The reason I want to use Wordpress and nothing else is that my existing customers are already on Wordpress, and most are seniors, and all are able manage and update their sites themselves after an initial bit of coaching.

For those with existing sites, a mobile plugin is sufficient. For others, they want to have a small personal or business site that is strictly for mobile use - they don't want a larger site at all. Most are artists or crafters who simply want their information available via a mobile phone or tablet, with a click to call, contact info and a small sample of their work.

Then it will be best for you and your clients to focus on a WordPress mobile solution. There are many free/paid plugins out there that you can use. There was also a nice WordPress mobile plugin WSO around. You can even go one step further and have someone code a simpler and lighter plugin which may increase the loading speed.

I.M.Retired · 25th Oct 2012, 07:06 PM

Nail: You said:

have someone code a simpler and lighter plugin which may increase the loading speed.

You may have access to someone who can 'code on demand' for you, but I certainly don't.

I need stuff that works out of the box.

Even if I could find someone to code for me, how would I know that the code was valid. Or that it didn't send folks off to some space cadet site or program that I would be totally in the dark about.

You may be able to find someone to code something for you. If I could find someone to code something for every situation that I come across that needed a special code - let me tell you - I would be a bazillionaire.

Now, if you can code these things for me - come out and say it up front. If not, point me in the direction of someone who can.

Kevin Z · 25th Oct 2012, 09:25 PM

One thing to consider when ever deciding to use Wordpress for your clients websites is

#1 Security is always an issue
#2 WordPress is a very bloated CMS

Depending on the quality of the plugins and themes you install you could be looking for problems if you choose to use Wordpress in a production environment for your cleints.

My advice to you if you were to choose the WordPress route is "Take A LOT of backups".

larryt · 25th Oct 2012, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by I.M.Retired

I have read most of the threads here about the pros and cons of using wordpress for creating mobile sites for customers.

What I need to have clarified in 'no uncertain terms' is:

How much longer does it take a small wordpress mobile site to load on a smartphone as opposed to a site built from a php or html template?

I have customers who have wordpress sites and who would like the ease of using wordpress for their mobile sites. Most of these customers simply want to upload new images of their products, as most of the sites I work with are artists and crafts people.

Non of these people know anything about website design, but most have become quite okay with updating their wordpress sites.

Now they are asking me for a mobile version of their site - and they want a wordpress mobile site so they can manage it themselves.

I also want them to be able to manage it themselves as I don't want to get into the mobile site maintenance business.

And some who have contacted me don't want a standard site, they only want a quick mobile presence that they can update and maintain.

So - bottom line is - should I set up a mobile site for them using wordpress or not. How slow does a small wordpress mobile site actually load? (Keep in mind that I'm in a remote rural area and all sites load slowly, so it's hard for me to make an accurate evaluation.)

Thanks for your patience - and - please, send help!

There is a "new kid on the block" for creating WP mobile sites. The load speeds are similar to and/or faster than html loads for the same information and it validates at or near 100%!!.

You upload the theme to your customer's current WP site, create the mobile site right inside using the theme provided. Then you deactivate the mobile them and re-activate the main theme. You are done.

When a smartphone or cell phone accesses the site, the mobile theme automatically de-activates the main theme and activates the mobile theme. It is seamless and requires no "redirect" script of any kind.

Setting up of the theme is so easy you and your clients will have a very short learning curve.

You can get more information on the facebook page at facebook.com/jumpmobi

NatGreen · 25th Oct 2012, 11:29 PM

While I have used quite a few different mobile builders including a few Wordpress themes (and yes some of them are a little slow), there is one that I have been involved with as a beta tester and it is lightning fast and hands down the best builder I have seen...and yes, I have looked at them all.

I have no affiliation with the guys who built it other than being a beta tester but let me say I will never need to use another mobile platform again.

This thing is badass.

Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/jumpmobi

They've just done their soft launch and will be launching to the public soon.

You want to buy this one. Trust me on that.

dantehicks · 25th Oct 2012, 11:39 PM

This is the real deal. My personal preference is handcoding mobile sites, but occasionally I'll grab a WSO here or there in search of a quick and dirty way to crank out more basic jobs as needed.

While I looked at these "sitebuilders" as potential productivity tools, I never considered them to be remotely on-par with the quality I could produce manually.

However, I got my hands on this last week and can honestly say, this is such a unique and sophisticated platform that I've already found it to be a go-to solution for a higher end client.

It's simple enough for a relative beginner to use, yet has advanced capabilities that will impress a seasoned mobile developer.

Originally Posted by larryt

There is a "new kid on the block" for creating WP mobile sites. The load speeds are similar to and/or faster than html loads for the same information and it validates at or near 100%!!.

You upload the theme to your customer's current WP site, create the mobile site right inside using the theme provided. Then you deactivate the mobile them and re-activate the main theme. You are done.

When a smartphone or cell phone accesses the site, the mobile theme automatically de-activates the main theme and activates the mobile theme. It is seamless and requires no "redirect" script of any kind.

Setting up of the theme is so easy you and your clients will have a very short learning curve.

You can get more information on the facebook page at facebook.com/jumpmobi

globalpro · 26th Oct 2012, 06:35 AM

To add to what Larry and Nat have said, I was a beta tester for Jay Moreno's new theme and it's the real deal.

Not only is it used for wordpress, but it can be set up within the same WP desktop site and if set up right, will validate at the top of the scale (he proved this and to me will be a mobile game changer).

He made it drop dead simple to set up, covered the broad needs of the beta group (great group BTW) and has some awesome features yet to come.

https://www.facebook.com/jumpmobi

John

I.M.Retired · 26th Oct 2012, 09:20 AM

create the mobile site right inside using the theme..

I'm not sure what "right inside" means, but it does sound promising.

Is this the plugin available at JumpMobi - Mobile Themes, Templates, Plugins & Tools For Wordpress, Joomla & Drupal ?

Do you require a special theme, or will this work with any theme?

Jay Moreno · 26th Oct 2012, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by I.M.Retired

I'm not sure what "right inside" means, but it does sound promising.

Is this the plugin available at JumpMobi - Mobile Themes, Templates, Plugins & Tools For Wordpress, Joomla & Drupal ?

Do you require a special theme, or will this work with any theme?

Hi IMRetired - what everyone is talking about is our JumpMobi Inspire Mobile Theme for WordPress, its not currently for sale right now we had actually ran a soft launch last weekend just to get it into the hands of those people that have been following us the past 20 months we've been developing it and also to check out our payment gateways and order processing. Official launch is expected to be around mid November

Drop me a private message and i will get you some more information so as you can see if this is what you are looking for - by the sounds of it it is.

Cheers,

Jay

25th Oct 2012, 10:01 AM	#2
ppc4profit HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2007 Location: London, United Kingdom. Posts: 167 Thanks: 12 Thanked 33 Times in 25 Posts	Re: Yet another question about using WP for mobile sites... Share on: Unfortunately there is no definitive answer to your question. You mentioned yourself that you are in a remote rural area and that all sites load slowly, probably because you are on a slow connection. There are a lot of variables to take into account before you could have a guess at how fast or slow a side would load. The CPU power of the mobile phone, which browser it is using, how fast the connection is between the phone and the mobile network or is the customer using Wi.Fi to connect, and again what is the bandwidth of that connection. All of the above come into play before the technology platform and coding in the website under consideration. HTML sites have the simplest coding, PHP sites have a very small server overhead as the PHP code needs to be interpreted before the site is displayed. I think that the concern over WordPress sites (which incidentally are coded in php) is that the underlying WordPress engine might be more complex than is required for a simple mobile site and incur a small amount of processing overhead before the site is displayed. I think more of an issue in the speed of a mobile website is how large are the pages - what is the file size. Are they graphics rich with images which have not been optimised? Is there a lot of text. In short the larger the file size of the total page to be displayed the more time is required for that to be transmitted whether it be via a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection. If you take all this into account, optimising your images and taking care not to reproduce too much text then your current customers should not have too much of an issue. One thing I would point out though is that customers accessing a site via a mobile phone might be in a different mindset that those accessing the site via a desktop PC. In this situation you can see that they would perhaps want different information and reproducing existing content and reproducing it for a mobile phone might not meet the needs of mobile customers. You will need to take a view on this.
	Checkout Our Fully Responsive Wordpress Templates Mobile Enable Your Wordpress Website Today - With This Plugin Online Marketing - We Help With PPC, SMS and QR Code Campaigns

25th Oct 2012, 10:59 AM	#4
I.M.Retired Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2005 Posts: 664 Thanks: 840 Thanked 331 Times in 208 Posts	Re: Yet another question about using WP for mobile sites... Share on: Thanks to both of you for your responses. That is the type of information I was looking for. (Nail: A while back I purchased some of your mobile templates and they were fantastic!) (ppc4profit: Your site looks great. I am going to check it out in more detail later this afternoon. It looks like the type of thing my customers would prefer over Wordpress.) What I am really working through here is considering whether or not to offer a mobile site design service using just Wordpress. There are other local businesses offering mobile sites based on all of the above methods mentioned above. The reason I want to use Wordpress and nothing else is that my existing customers are already on Wordpress, and most are seniors, and all are able manage and update their sites themselves after an initial bit of coaching. For those with existing sites, a mobile plugin is sufficient. For others, they want to have a small personal or business site that is strictly for mobile use - they don't want a larger site at all. Most are artists or crafters who simply want their information available via a mobile phone or tablet, with a click to call, contact info and a small sample of their work. For that reason, I thought Wordpress would be best, as they can quickly and easily change their own images, post the dates of the local business shows they will be attending, etc. So your answers have helped me figure things out. I don't want to get into a full blown mobile website design business - as you can see from my user name I, AM. Retired - or at least pretending to be, at the moment.

25th Oct 2012, 09:25 PM	#7
Kevin Z brickandmobile.com War Room Member Join Date: 2010 Location: Toronto Posts: 309 Thanks: 60 Thanked 106 Times in 64 Posts	Re: Yet another question about using WP for mobile sites... Share on: One thing to consider when ever deciding to use Wordpress for your clients websites is #1 Security is always an issue #2 WordPress is a very bloated CMS Depending on the quality of the plugins and themes you install you could be looking for problems if you choose to use Wordpress in a production environment for your cleints. My advice to you if you were to choose the WordPress route is "Take A LOT of backups".
	[ brick&mobile Click here to start your Mobile Marketing business

25th Oct 2012, 11:29 PM	#9
NatGreen Local Marketing Warrior Join Date: 2010 Location: New Westminster,BC,Canada Posts: 64 Thanks: 27 Thanked 39 Times in 36 Posts	Re: Yet another question about using WP for mobile sites... Share on: While I have used quite a few different mobile builders including a few Wordpress themes (and yes some of them are a little slow), there is one that I have been involved with as a beta tester and it is lightning fast and hands down the best builder I have seen...and yes, I have looked at them all. I have no affiliation with the guys who built it other than being a beta tester but let me say I will never need to use another mobile platform again. This thing is badass. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/jumpmobi They've just done their soft launch and will be launching to the public soon. You want to buy this one. Trust me on that.
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26th Oct 2012, 06:35 AM	#11
globalpro John Burnette War Room Member Join Date: 2007 Location: S.E. USA Posts: 1,170 Thanks: 984 Thanked 270 Times in 223 Posts	Re: Yet another question about using WP for mobile sites... Share on: To add to what Larry and Nat have said, I was a beta tester for Jay Moreno's new theme and it's the real deal. Not only is it used for wordpress, but it can be set up within the same WP desktop site and if set up right, will validate at the top of the scale (he proved this and to me will be a mobile game changer). He made it drop dead simple to set up, covered the broad needs of the beta group (great group BTW) and has some awesome features yet to come. https://www.facebook.com/jumpmobi John

25th Oct 2012, 09:03 AM	#1
I.M.Retired Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2005 Posts: 664 Thanks: 840 Thanked 331 Times in 208 Posts	Yet another question about using WP for mobile sites... Share on: I have read most of the threads here about the pros and cons of using wordpress for creating mobile sites for customers. What I need to have clarified in 'no uncertain terms' is: How much longer does it take a small wordpress mobile site to load on a smartphone as opposed to a site built from a php or html template? I have customers who have wordpress sites and who would like the ease of using wordpress for their mobile sites. Most of these customers simply want to upload new images of their products, as most of the sites I work with are artists and crafts people. Non of these people know anything about website design, but most have become quite okay with updating their wordpress sites. Now they are asking me for a mobile version of their site - and they want a wordpress mobile site so they can manage it themselves. I also want them to be able to manage it themselves as I don't want to get into the mobile site maintenance business. And some who have contacted me don't want a standard site, they only want a quick mobile presence that they can update and maintain. So - bottom line is - should I set up a mobile site for them using wordpress or not. How slow does a small wordpress mobile site actually load? (Keep in mind that I'm in a remote rural area and all sites load slowly, so it's hard for me to make an accurate evaluation.) Thanks for your patience - and - please, send help!