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I am in the process of starting a website. It is very early days but I'm generally pleased with it, apart from when I view my site on my mobile. I know there is no mobile compatibility mode here but it really looks nothing like it does on my computer. I am a novice to all this but if I looked this site up on my mobile I would quickly exit again as it looks so unprofessional. Any tips on this..please?
I would agree totally with the moderator's comments. With a badly designed responsive site, I too often revert back to the desktop version when the mobile version is found lacking.
As regards WordPress, their first generation of responsive sites left a bit to be desired but most of their responsive templates nowadays are pretty good.
If you are planning to use Wordpress yourself there are some very cheap video courses and special offers available on Udemy and of course some completely free ones on YouTube.
I use the latest version of "Adobe Dreamweaver CC" myself. It is hard to beat for professional results and of course you start with a totally blank canvas, not a template. However, I would not recommend it for a beginner.
I have also heard mumblings about "Twitter Bootstrap" for responsive sites but you would have to Google that for more info. I have never properly looked into it.
CHECK AS YOU GO ...
Some further wisdom on this topic are that whichever program you use to design your responsive site, don't wait until you have spent weeks on it or worse still, completely finished it before you check to see what it looks like on an iPhone, iPad, notebook etc.
The very first thing I do is get some headings and content using the LOREM IPSUM dummy text generator. Then I import the dummy content to my site and specify some suitably sized heading and paragraph fonts. I avoid fancy handwritten ones at all cost, as they are often unreadable on smaller devices.
I don't rely on what my software tells me the site will look like, I publish this dummy content to a test site on the web and physically check it on an iPhone, iPad and notebook. (Yes, I bought an extra domain for a couple of quid specifically for this purpose and it was well worth it.) I don't have an iPad or notebook myself, I borrow one when I can or sometimes just look at the site on an iPad in PC World.
I physically check the font sizes and styling to make sure I am happy with them and that it is perfectly readable. I also check to see whether the content is running off the bottom of the page. (That often happens, so scroll down to the end.)
Once I am happy with it, I cross my fingers and show it to 3 or 4 other people and ask them what they think. I don't want to find out weeks later that I am the only one who thinks my design was fit for purpose.
If you plan to follow this last bit of advice, don't show your "work in progress" to your loved ones. You will rarely get an objective response. Ask somebody you work with or a friend of a friend. Explain why you are asking them and they will be pleased you value their opinion. I guarantee that they will give you more honest feedback than your partner or 16 year old daughter.
Lastly, I cannot stress how important it is during this design process for you to take regular backups. With responsive design, even an experienced professional can get into a complete mess. If this happens to you, try for 5 minutes to fix it but then abandon the exercise and return to the last working backup - ideally this should have been taken quite recently, so you don't have to repeat too much of your work.
Hope that helps
Mike
3in1.co.uk
PS If you want to read more on "Usability Testing" I can strongly recommend a short book called "Don't Make Me Think" (2nd Edition) by Steve Krug.
As regards WordPress, their first generation of responsive sites left a bit to be desired but most of their responsive templates nowadays are pretty good.
If you are planning to use Wordpress yourself there are some very cheap video courses and special offers available on Udemy and of course some completely free ones on YouTube.
I use the latest version of "Adobe Dreamweaver CC" myself. It is hard to beat for professional results and of course you start with a totally blank canvas, not a template. However, I would not recommend it for a beginner.
I have also heard mumblings about "Twitter Bootstrap" for responsive sites but you would have to Google that for more info. I have never properly looked into it.
CHECK AS YOU GO ...
Some further wisdom on this topic are that whichever program you use to design your responsive site, don't wait until you have spent weeks on it or worse still, completely finished it before you check to see what it looks like on an iPhone, iPad, notebook etc.
The very first thing I do is get some headings and content using the LOREM IPSUM dummy text generator. Then I import the dummy content to my site and specify some suitably sized heading and paragraph fonts. I avoid fancy handwritten ones at all cost, as they are often unreadable on smaller devices.
I don't rely on what my software tells me the site will look like, I publish this dummy content to a test site on the web and physically check it on an iPhone, iPad and notebook. (Yes, I bought an extra domain for a couple of quid specifically for this purpose and it was well worth it.) I don't have an iPad or notebook myself, I borrow one when I can or sometimes just look at the site on an iPad in PC World.
I physically check the font sizes and styling to make sure I am happy with them and that it is perfectly readable. I also check to see whether the content is running off the bottom of the page. (That often happens, so scroll down to the end.)
Once I am happy with it, I cross my fingers and show it to 3 or 4 other people and ask them what they think. I don't want to find out weeks later that I am the only one who thinks my design was fit for purpose.
If you plan to follow this last bit of advice, don't show your "work in progress" to your loved ones. You will rarely get an objective response. Ask somebody you work with or a friend of a friend. Explain why you are asking them and they will be pleased you value their opinion. I guarantee that they will give you more honest feedback than your partner or 16 year old daughter.
Lastly, I cannot stress how important it is during this design process for you to take regular backups. With responsive design, even an experienced professional can get into a complete mess. If this happens to you, try for 5 minutes to fix it but then abandon the exercise and return to the last working backup - ideally this should have been taken quite recently, so you don't have to repeat too much of your work.
Hope that helps
Mike
3in1.co.uk
PS If you want to read more on "Usability Testing" I can strongly recommend a short book called "Don't Make Me Think" (2nd Edition) by Steve Krug.
Hi and welcome to the forums!
You haven't said but I'm wondering if you are using InstantPro to build your site?
Here are some previous Forum comments about mobile/responsive sites which may be relevant.
Separate 'mobile' sites are old hat now and RWD (Responsive Web Design) is the current trend. You might like to look at building a bespoke RWD site on a responsive framework or an alternative would be to use WordPress with a responsive theme.
As I mention in my previous comments above I'm not a fan of RWD sites and often switch to the desktop version when I use them.
Feel free to post the address of your Freeola site :¬)
You haven't said but I'm wondering if you are using InstantPro to build your site?
Here are some previous Forum comments about mobile/responsive sites which may be relevant.
Separate 'mobile' sites are old hat now and RWD (Responsive Web Design) is the current trend. You might like to look at building a bespoke RWD site on a responsive framework or an alternative would be to use WordPress with a responsive theme.
As I mention in my previous comments above I'm not a fan of RWD sites and often switch to the desktop version when I use them.
Feel free to post the address of your Freeola site :¬)
[s]Hmmm...[/s] My Freeola InstantPro Site
I am in the process of starting a website. It is very early days but I'm generally pleased with it, apart from when I view my site on my mobile. I know there is no mobile compatibility mode here but it really looks nothing like it does on my computer. I am a novice to all this but if I looked this site up on my mobile I would quickly exit again as it looks so unprofessional. Any tips on this..please?