Going Mobile

any programs?

[textex]

Want to build a mobile version of my site. My html skills are not great. I use Frontpage :) Any suggestions on how to build mobile pages? Any programs? I've tried online sites but they are difficult to do what I want to do...

[not2easy]

You might not like my suggestion, but it is to learn html. In the many years since starting with Frontpage, surely you have noticed a few drawbacks. There are templates (some free) that will give you one site for all users and save the headaches of trying to set up and maintain two sites. The templates let you work in a plain text editor, view your progress in your browser, on your computer and upload to your site when you like the results. A few weeks (or less) spent learning the basics of html and getting a handle on css is the most liberating thing a webmaster could do.

The 2 site approach is the least favored way to have a mobile friendly site because of the myriad of devices, screen sizes and resolutions to be identified and redirected to the right version of css to deliver their format. You are not likely to find a WYSIWYG editor for mobile that can deliver a good user experience on a separate site.

See this issue discussed today: [webmasterworld.com...] that shows what happens when people find your site in search and get automatically sent to your separate mobile site. The reasons not to build a separate site for mobile are a long list of new problems that you don't have right now.

If creating a mobile app is too complicated, I don't think you'll find an equivalent to Frontpage to build a mobile site, nor do I think that separate sites is the best path to choose.

I hope someone pops in with an answer that you will like better that can do just what you want, but this is my suggestion.

[cmendla]

textex

1. Frontpage is eventually going to go away. At some point, hosts will no longer offer the extensions.

2. CMSs such as Joomla are 'responsive' or mobile ready depending on the template and how you structure things.

3. There are import tools which work to some degree that would allow you to move a site from frontpage to joomla (or other cms)


The process of conversion and the associated learning curve is not cheap or easy. I've found that even though the joomla version/templates I am using are responsive, I still have to test on phones and on the opera mobile simulator. I've been working mostly with joomla 2.5 although Joomla 3.x is supposed to be a lot better in terms of responsive design.

The import/migration process is not necessarily easy. Frontpage puts a lot of odd stuff in the html such as webbot code. There are ways of working with that from SQL.

the other issue is security/maintenance. While frontpage has it's security issues, keeping a joomla/wordpress/drupal site secure requires constant effort. .. ie

- Regular backups via akeeba. Backups are downloaded and archived. In the event of a hack, the site can be restored to an earlier version
- Keeping the joomla core and all extensions updated. Usually, this is less than an hour a month. If there is an urgent issue, then you do it asap.
- Running a firewall extension. People will try SQL injections. There are extensions to help slow this down.

Also, a migration would need to have 301 redirects from the old structure to the new.


In summary - A migration to a modern CMS is probably the best path. However, you need to consider the costs/benefits for your particular situation..

[Narsto]

html and css is an essential skill I believe for any webmasters. I think you need to know css to make your site responsive. Just like cmendla said, Joomla/Wordpress have ready-made themes that are already responsive.