Optimizing for mobile

B3aker · December 23, 2013, 06:23:31 PM

I want my members to stay connected to my forum, even when they are away from their computers. When I first tried it on my smartphone, I noticed text in some posts was massive and others really tiny. It made it pretty frustrating to post on a mobile phone. Even in the quick reply box, I can't see what I'm typing. If I'm having these problems, so are my users and its probably hurting my return rate for my members. I'd like them to post more and not get caught in their lives and have to wait until they can get to their computers.

I browsed through the add ons section and installed Mobile Device Detect 0.2.2 and it didn't make any difference. Is there any other way to optimize my SMF site to look really good on mobile? I'm running SMF 2.0.6.

Arantor · December 23, 2013, 07:35:05 PM

It's not supposed to make it any different - it is supposed to detect and divert a user to a theme you indicate for mobile use...

B3aker · December 23, 2013, 10:26:13 PM

Oh. Thanks for clarifying that. Is there any add on that makes the forum more mobile friendly?

johnpaul2k2 · December 24, 2013, 02:30:34 AM

you mean for mobile?
yes there are mob for that

1 you can search through here http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?action=search;basic_search=mobile

2.http://smf-media.com/ . this is a paid mob

Realinfo · December 24, 2013, 02:48:53 AM

This is the biggest issue, that now too many people are using our forum at Tablet and mobile, so smf needs to make some changes in default theme, so it can be good for mobile users, it's need of time, please make needed change in default theme, thanks

johnpaul2k2 · December 24, 2013, 03:03:37 AM

Quote from: Realinfo on December 24, 2013, 02:48:53 AM
This is the biggest issue, that now too many people are using our forum at Tablet and mobile, so smf needs to make some changes in default theme, so it can be good for mobile users, it's need of time, please make needed change in default theme, thanks

Quote from: johnpaul2k2 on December 24, 2013, 02:30:34 AM
you mean for mobile?
yes there are mob for that

1 you can search through here http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?action=search;basic_search=mobile

2.http://smf-media.com/ . this is a paid mob

Also

i am currently using Media smf. Paid but the fee isn't that high but it has Great Features which convert any mobile browser into MOBILE FRIENDLY

.

search here, there are free smf for mobile users
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?action=search;basic_search=mobile

B3aker · December 24, 2013, 11:13:18 AM

Ah. Sweet. Thanks for the links. I'll have to check them out.

Last night I went on a related forum to mine. That community was using vBulletin and it looked the same as SMF on my phone (some topics with huge text then little text underneath, same with replies and the quick reply for them was also massively small on my phone). Started to think it was the way forums look on mobile devices and was also thinking why it hasn't been upgraded yet to automatically optimize for mobile. But then again, I remember I'm no programmer and have no idea how this stuff works

Kindred · December 24, 2013, 11:16:23 AM

honestly, the forums look perfectly find on my tablet - and pretty good on my phone (I occasionally get a weird text size on the phone)

yes... the smf theme for 2.1 should be more mobile-responsive than the 2.0 theme was...
(but 2.0 will likely not see any theme changes along those lines)

B3aker · December 24, 2013, 11:34:46 AM

Quote from: johnpaul2k2 on December 24, 2013, 03:03:37 AM
Quote from: Realinfo on December 24, 2013, 02:48:53 AM
This is the biggest issue, that now too many people are using our forum at Tablet and mobile, so smf needs to make some changes in default theme, so it can be good for mobile users, it's need of time, please make needed change in default theme, thanks
Quote from: johnpaul2k2 on December 24, 2013, 02:30:34 AM
you mean for mobile?
yes there are mob for that

1 you can search through here http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?action=search;basic_search=mobile

2.http://smf-media.com/ . this is a paid mob

Also

i am currently using Media smf. Paid but the fee isn't that high but it has Great Features which convert any mobile browser into MOBILE FRIENDLY .

search here, there are free smf for mobile users
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?action=search;basic_search=mobile

I checked it out. The free smf themes weren't really what I was looking for. Checked out Media SMF. That looks pretty much exactly like what I'm looking for. Didn't really want to pay for a mod but the fee isn't that bad at all and I'm not that cheap anyway

Plus for the amount of time I can imagine the developer put into it, I'd be happy to support them.

busterone · December 24, 2013, 07:43:11 PM

I have been using the SMF4mobile theme since it was released. Only about a third of my regulars log in on mobile, but they all like it. I have had very few complaints in the last year so I recommend the few dollars it costs to get it myself.

B3aker · December 25, 2013, 11:19:01 AM

I figure worst case scenerio, I'm always on my forum on my phone. So at least I pay 20 bucks and I will get some use out of it. 20 bucks to convenience myself, lol.

Only question I have is its 20 dollars one time fee, right? Or is it like a yearly thing?

Illori · December 25, 2013, 11:35:40 AM

Quote from: B3aker on December 25, 2013, 11:19:01 AM
Only question I have is its 20 dollars one time fee, right? Or is it like a yearly thing?

yearly if you want upgrades and support otherwise one time.

B3aker · December 25, 2013, 12:02:05 PM

Are the upgrades major or could I get by upgrading every other year?

Illori · December 25, 2013, 12:09:14 PM

that depends on if you want the newest version this year or next year and when the next version is released.

B3aker · December 25, 2013, 12:10:39 PM

With my luck, I'll buy it and the new version will be released next month, lol. Anyway, thanks for the help. I'll give it a try and report back

NeedIt · December 25, 2013, 02:47:44 PM

So has anyone written an app yet for smf, i.e. an app to work with smart phones?

Arantor · December 25, 2013, 03:21:10 PM

What use would that be, exactly? Unless you're a registered Apple developer, you can't push that to the App Store yourself - which is why folks end up having to buy something like Tapatalk for that.

But honestly there's not a lot of point with a dedicated app when there is a decent enough mobile theme out there.

NeedIt · December 25, 2013, 03:27:07 PM

Quote from: Arantor Beeblebrox the First on December 25, 2013, 03:21:10 PM
What use would that be, exactly? Unless you're a registered Apple developer, you can't push that to the App Store yourself - which is why folks end up having to buy something like Tapatalk for that.

But honestly there's not a lot of point with a dedicated app when there is a decent enough mobile theme out there.

Well, the reason is this: people think in apps now. They would rather click on an app button on the smart phone than go the internet, find the bookmark to my site, etc. I see many sites now that offer apps for their forum. Also, these are free apps in every case I have seen. It's not a money maker: it's a way to pander to an app-driven public.

Also, this is not just Apple but also Android.

Arantor · December 25, 2013, 03:29:16 PM

So, whether it's Android or Apple it doesn't matter. I could write you such an app, but you couldn't launch it for your forum unless you pay for it to be released since both Apple and Google (and other app stores) have a fee for such things. Just because it's free to use doesn't mean it's free to release.

johnpaul2k2 · December 25, 2013, 04:21:51 PM

Quote from: Arantor Beeblebrox the First on December 25, 2013, 03:29:16 PM
So, whether it's Android or Apple it doesn't matter. I could write you such an app, but you couldn't launch it for your forum unless you pay for it to be released since both Apple and Google (and other app stores) have a fee for such things. Just because it's free to use doesn't mean it's free to release.

*wish i have somebody like you as a Neighbor...will just duplicate your Developer aspect*

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Optimizing for mobile