Hi Just been looking into how to server a mobile alternative website. We have a large complex website that works great in normal browsers on PC and even works ok I suppose on Blackberrys and Iphones. But when it comes to normal mobile phones then our site seriously fails. http://www.lease-hire.co.uk Just wondering what the best way of serving an alternative site for these users, so normal users get the normal site but if someone with a Nokia phone or something along them lines get servered a basic alternative. Cheers John
Wordpress has a what they call a "toolkit" to suggest a mobile or desktop presentation. Here is the LINK Wordpress seems to be doing "just okay" in my opinion on keeping up with html5. There is also the "M" project you may be interested in : LINK Good luck to you.
Yes, It is based on a Wordpress site. If you are using a database ( I assumed you were, since you said it was a large site ) I am 99 percent sure that there is a conversion tool. If you can find a capable javascript progammer, you may be able to keep your site and not switch to Wordpress, by sending people to specially created mobile areas of your site with a User Agent "sniffer". What is most important is knowing your visitors. If your web log says you have a lot of visitors on mobile devices, a change is warranted.
Think I have found whats needed anyway, unless there are any alternatives to this. http://detectmobilebrowsers.mobi/
NO, NO, NO. Do NOT use ANY detect scripts as they are outdated (for use) and can present wrong information. And for the love of God do NOT use WordPress for mobile. ugh. These WordPress is God people just have no clue. What I've done in the past has worked for me but there may be someone who has more experience with this. First thing is buy a mobile domain m.sitename.com Second, don't put your entire site in mobile format. Keep it simple and clean. No scripts at all and minimal, if any images. I generally use a 3 or 4 style navigation and a prev and next at the top and bottom of the page. Third, keep it simple. Maybe have an info page with your service and product info, contact info and maybe a link for directions. That way your users get an idea of what you offer and you can point them to your real site when they can get to a desktop or laptop.
As if I was a Wordpress person... I know you do not have time, but my profile is mostly about Joomla, not Wordpress. It pays to be open to other choices. Some very popular ( and busy ) gadget sites are created with Wordpress. The OP already has a site up and running. They should use a different folder or subdomain, not buy a second domain. This was good advice. For the OP : Take into account that mobile devices just got through outselling laptops and desktops ( last quarter ), so the pressure is building to create mobile sites. Your niche is on fleet car leasing. I have not done any study on your niche, but I would say again, check your web log to see what user agents are accessing your site. If it looks like mobile devices, go with the flow and help them out. Where are people when they are accessing your site ? If they are at home or at work, they are probably viewing your site on a laptop or PC/Mac/Linux. If not, perhaps iPhone, Blackberry, or with Android. Those last two are both using the Webkit browser ( later versions have flash ), while Safari is on the iPhone ( no flash ). I looked at your example: detectmobilebrowsers.mobi. I can not personally recommend them, but I liked their "clients" section. Yours is a commercial site, they charge more.
not trashing WordPress. It's great for what it's intended to do and I use it when the project calls for it. But these people who think it's the be all end all for web development have no clue. Wasn't trying to flame your advice Yes they have a site up and running and you could use a subfolder (which incidentally is what do.). That's one way. But if you are focusing on mobile users themselves I would suggest the m. domain. Cleaner and more professional but certainly not a must have. Here's a good site with information on building for mobile. Might have some useful info to help out out http://www.developershome.com/wap/xhtmlmp/xhtml_mp_tutorial.asp?page=wmlFeaturesLost
You should check out webtosmartphone.com. They created an automatic converter that makes most websites mobile friendly. The converter acts as a "mask" over an existing website, with no need to register a new domain name. If it doesnt convert automatically, it can be done manually with the same "mask".
Check WebtoSmartphone.com. It makes the conversion easy. If you need a custom-made conversion, we also do that Good Luck,
Just curious but what is wrong with detect scripts like Wordpress for mobile? Is it just the fact that they might present wrong information?