Responsive CMS
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- BusterBoy
We've got a custom built CMS that has been rolled out to about 20 clients. We're in the process of a rebuild at the moment...a couple of clients have asked about a responsive layout for the CMS.
Tossing up at the moment whether to do this...is it necessary for a CMS to be responsive given it's a fairly small installed base? Overkill or a nice feature to promote?
Thoughts?
- mantrakid0
I would say almost all 'out of the box' solutions these days are going responsive.. Its definitely more than nice to have i think to anyone who is aware of it. It basically eliminates the need for a separate phone + tablet + laptop + desktop site / theme.... Even the base wordpress theme is responsive now.
- mantrakid0
depends on the original design / layout / code though. if you need to totally overhaul everything maybe its easier to give a mobile css solution to just the people who want responsive sites for mobile purposes.. its easy enough to serve up an alternate css file based on the browser / user agent.
- But are we talking templates for users, or the actual UI of the CMS? I assume the latter.ETM
- ETM0
I am sure some client's would value being able to update their site, on the go, from their mobile. Could be a selling feature when pitching clients. How in-depth is this CMS or the sites it services? Also, what are you using as text editor? And is the CMS a backend UI or inline editing?
- omg0
amazingly you have clients who can ask for a "responsive design"....
- utopian0
Why Responsive Design is So Important
http://www.cmscritic.com/why-res…
- utopian0
Are are a couple of CMS packages that include responsive design integrated with their CMS.
http://www.lightcms.com/design
http://www.sitefinity.com/benefi…
- ETM0
I think we still need clarity on whether you are asking about offering up responsive templates for your CMS users, or if you are talking about changing the CMS UI to be responsive...
- ukit20
Yes
- BusterBoy0
Just to clarify, it's a custom built CMS that targets a particular industry. Installed base quite small but reasonably tech savvy.
Looking at making the actual CMS responsive - it's being rebuilt completely from scratch (big project) so probably the way to go. Could help stay somewhat ahead of the competition in this particular industry.
Looking at Bootstrap with LESS so far as the most likely option.
- Continuity0
Responsive is a good idea, but ...
The one key thing to remember with the iPad and iPhone is the complete lack of a browsable file system. The implications are that if your client wants to upload and post a photo — or, indeed, anything — along with text content from their iPad, they simply won't be able to.
- Continuity0
The impact on workflow will be significant enough as to nearly render using the CMS on those two devices useless, unless they're only tapping and posting text content.
- That said, I have no experience with Android or any other tablet OS, so I don't know if it's the same problem with those.Continuity
- ernexbcn0
But I believe that the CMS doesn't really need to be responsive, I have some pages that are really complex in layout and javascript and that's a bit overkill for an iPhone for example, a CMS should be managed ideally from a desktop browser or a tablet in my opinion.
- AVAVA0
CMS - No.
Responsive is a bit of a red herring. Seemed like a good thought at first.
Design specifically for each platform.
Simples.
- mekk0
Users don't care if your website is responsive or not. They do care if they can get shit done or not. Their devices are capable of displaying large-ass websites. 4G and LTE is faster than cable-baset internet, so it's not REALLY the matter to shrink it down another 20kb.
But what does a CMS do? It manages CONTENT. Not your layout. A good CMS is 100% separate from the frontend, so if your customers want it to be responsive it should just me a matter of CSS and JS. The content you want to display is the same, right?
- < Not sure you are fully understanding the whole responsive thing.ETM
- Responsive has much less to do with image sizing and more with functionality/readab... on different devices.ETM
- Constant pinching and zooming of a site on a phone is not a good experience.ETM
- Smartphones were made to bring the desktop-web on the phone. Now we are saying nu-uh lets get users a small website for their fat fingers?mekk
- small website for their fat fingers?mekk