Mobile Site Suggestions Needed

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » January 14th, 2014, 7:49 pm

I'm currently trying to polish up the mobile site. I revamped the main mobile page so the main buttons were near the top. I also added a small google ad. I changed the system index pages so the titles were larger and spaced out better.

One thing that bothers me is that if you go to any page except the main page using a smart phone, it puts you into "full site" mode.

Originally I had some code that would recognize the phone for any page and kick you into mobile mode. Some people complained about that however, because they actually wanted to use the full mode on their device.

Any recommendations how I can handle this problem? Please let me know you experience using the mobile site, and how you think it might be improved.

Thanks!
VGC

a1 · Postby a1 » January 14th, 2014, 8:05 pm

Well you could have a link that says View Full Site like espn does.

Or you could go with responsive web design rather than a separate mobile site, but that would be a lot more work.

Wallyworld1 · Postby **Wallyworld1** » January 14th, 2014, 10:55 pm

I have gotten used to using the full site on my cell phone. So please don't make it auto change back to mobile site.

Thanks,

Bill

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » January 15th, 2014, 9:36 pm

There is already a "full site" button on the mobile, but you guys gave me an idea.

Currently it only kicks you to the mobile version when you enter via the main page.

Perhaps when someone enters the person via another page, I could display a small banner on top of the page that says "We've detected you're using a mobile device. You may want to try the Mobile version of the site" and then include a link.

That way, people who prefer the full site can use that, but new readers will be made aware that there is an alternate version.

For those of you who have used the mobile version, please let me know why you don't like it as much. A few months back a reader complained about the lack of system reviews, and I was able to add those. Your feedback does make a difference.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » January 16th, 2014, 9:32 pm

Okay, I made the changes.

Now, when you bring up the normal site on a mobile device, it will include a orange banner suggesting you try the mobile version. You do not HAVE to use the mobile version, but it does include a link if you want to try it.

Also I changed the full size so if you click on the top banner it will take you to the main page (which is how most sites work).

Comments or suggestions are welcome. Also, let me know if I broke anything.

Tron1 · Postby **Tron1** » January 19th, 2014, 1:53 pm

Whenever I go to the site on my phone I immediately click the desktop version. I'm not saying the phone version is bad, I'm just used to the regular version and therefor prefer it.

Atarifever1 · Postby **Atarifever1** » January 19th, 2014, 7:27 pm

It's pretty great as of right now. Since getting my Q5, I visit on my phone about 99% of my visits (I'm typing on BlackBerry right this second) and the mobile site is great. Fast with clear navigation is about all you can ask for on mobile. Thanks!

Sut1 · Postby **Sut1** » January 20th, 2014, 9:57 am

I like the mobile site, like Atarifever 99% of my time on the site is on my mobile. I use the mobile view for the main site and desktop version for the forums.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » January 20th, 2014, 1:50 pm

Thanks for this feedback guys! I guess it's even better than I thought. Hats off to Mark Jewell and Terry Herman for basically designing the whole thing for me. Those guys really knew what they were doing.

Still, please let me know if there are an areas that can be improved. Even if it's something small like moving a button, changing font size, etc. I'm kind of a perfectionist!

txsizzler1 · Postby **txsizzler1** » January 23rd, 2014, 10:24 am

Myself, I would like to see a small "thumbnail" on the mobile site of your recent reviews. Also, for some reason on the mobile site when visiting the forums, the scrolling is really terrible on it (very slow), yet on other mobile forum sites, I can easily scroll through (swiping with my finger is fast and fluid). Not sure why this is the case, though.