Hi all,
Is there a way to create a different content of the website (a site variation) within the same RW project only showing up on a smartphone and not showing up on a desktop computer.
So visiting the website on a desktop computer = desktop version shows up and de smartphone version is not visible.
Visiting the website on a smartphone = smartphone version showing up and desktop version not visible.
Hope this make sense 
Thanks
Jorrit,
With well-constructed responsive HTML, that is just what will happen.
I have realized this with the plugin Mobilize from Nimblehost.
Like @Oscar above, I have used Mobilize from Nimblehost when wanting to actually serve different content to mobile in the past. Now I just use the Foundation Theme and stacks from @joeworkman with further stacks from Big White Duck @tav.
Many stacks (nowadays) do offer the hide/show function. Just look for that in your stacks purchasing/acquiring. That way, you can build one site and only show what’s relevant to that size.
The good thing about Mobilizer, is you can choose actual devices, not just sizes (if I remember correctly) which is cool now with the blurring of phones/tablet sizings.
While creating a mobile version and a separate desktop version is possible with detection/redirection plugins, renaming rules etc… it was recognized pretty early on that this is very cumbersome and did not scale well. as there are now dozens of different device sizes, screen resolutions, and orientations – just building two sites is rarely sufficient.
for 99% of the use cases, it’s best to use a responsive design that changes its layout in response to the size of the device its being displayed on. my recommendation: get yourself a nice responsive theme, build with a nice responsive page (like Stacks, of course ) and your visitors will thank you (and your page rank will increase too).
there are rare but real reasons why you might need to make a truly dedicated mobile version that does device detection and servers specific content. the mobilize plugin above can help with that.
Isaiah
Ok guys, thanks for all the great info.
It seems I already own Mobilize. It was in a promo pack of Stacks+Plugins while purchasing RW. So I’ll try this one first
Foundation i have since last month. I look into it.
The reason why I want this split in mobile / desktop comes from my own experience while searching the net on my iphone.
When I look something up on iphone, do I need to see photo’s? NO. Do I need a lot of text? NO.
What I want is just info that matters. An adres, telephone number, email, opening hours.
This is something I’m intended to integrate in my web design.
So the only part I need to be visible on a smartphone is the contact info. (a small photo won’t hurt, just for the look of it)
Another big thanks to all,
Very helpful.
Regards
J
I completely agree with @isaiah. Why make extra work for yourself, especially in maintaining a website? If you think that photos or large chunks of text are irrelevant on a mobile phone, use the responsive feature of Stacks 3 to selectively show or hide particular elements on phones, tablets and desktops.
Going non-responsive (and building two parallel sites) is ok too - think about it- do you like most mobile websites that you visit?
Don’t get me wrong- there are many practical reasons for having a responsive mobile website, and many of the sites I’ve built over the past couple of years are responsive. But, just because we can do something with design doesn’t mean we should or that it’s a better experience. There are times when a site built for a mobile device is better then building a responsive site.
I try to take in the user’s perspective when deciding whether or not to build one responsive site or two parallel sites. In many situations, the needs of someone visiting a site while on a phone is not going to be the same as when they’re sitting at their desk or on their couch with a laptop.
As an example, I have a client that delivers medical services. Patients and doctors visiting the site from their desktops are expecting a much different experience than those visiting on their phones (researching procedures, downloading forms to complete at home, reading doctor’s CVs, doctors logging into the physician portal vs. people wanting to know the hours, directions, phone numbers, etc.). As a result, we made the decision to create two parallel sites (one for desktops & tablets and one for mobile devices).
I use Mobilize to divert folks to the correct page (each page of each site has customized header code so that they are alway directed to the corresponding page of the correct site…and not just to the homepage). I also deploy annotations in html and the sitemaps that let Google know about the corresponding sites/pages. And, unless something has changed, Google is perfectly fine with two parallel sites - so long as these annotations are used correctly (see: https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/separate-urls#tldr ).
If you’d like to compare one of my pages versus a different company that’s in the same field, you can do so at the following address (be sure to pull it up on a mobile device!). Now, pull up virtually any hospital or free-standing medical imaging site, and I’ll bet you’ll find that it’s a) responsive, and; b) not nearly as easy to find what you’re looking for.
Mine:
Great tip Thanks
Exactly what I meant
Everything that Isaiah and those endorsing his experience and post makes the best sense to me too.
But if what your audiences expect really do differ so fundamentally, then I wonder whether two different domains and two different sites isn’t best… Good luck!
@isaiah I would wish me a “remove for mobile” etc. beside the “hide for mobile” function for stacks, because just hiding content is not great for SEO in some cases. This would make the mobilizr plugin obsolete when using stacks.
@dave That sounds rather crazy to me. I would be immensely frustrated if I suddenly found that things I could access on my computer were unavailable on my phone. It sounds top me as though the split in your site has less to do with how the site is being accessed than by whom.
I appreciate your input @peterdanckwerts - and I understand where you’re coming from. But, our extensive research supports our decision to build two parallel sites.
When designing a site, I design for the users first. If mobile makes sense, great. But, that’s not always the case. In fact, sometimes it doesn’t make sense to consider mobile users at all.
For example, I’ve just begun building a site using TCMS that will allow marketers to layout letter-sized flyers on their laptops. Once they have the flyer the way they want it, they’ll print a PDF and send it to our printer who will then transfer it to inDesign and print the final version. While I could have built this in Foundation - in order for the marketer to really envision what the end product will look like, he/she needs to view it full-size. The site, when complete, will contain dozens of different templates - but I’m building it user-first, not mobile first since we don’t want them using a phone to design it. You can see the beginnings of the site here.
At the other end of the spectrum, I have a client that has a very hip clientele. With thousands of unique visits to their site everyday; well over 50% are using a mobile device. Their site is mobile first, built with Foundation, and, imo, works exceeding well (Stone Summit ).
Ok,
So far all my time went to Joe Workman’s Foundation & Stacks 3.
Pretty nice results.
I’ll check other solutions later,
Thanks y’all