Who can build me a mobile site?

[deniser]

Can anyone recommend a good company to build me a mobile site please?

I have approached quite a few companies but they all want to sell me a brand new responsive site when that really isn't what I want.

I want a mobile site based on my existing desktop site that mobile users can be diverted to.

I have tried the DIY options but they can't cope with a complex commerce site so I need something a little more bespoke.

Any suggestions?

 

[ryedale]

You shouldn't really be looking to divert visitors to a seperate site. The mobile version should be the same site resized to fit the resolution it is being viewed at.

We've converted a lot of desktop only sites to a responsive framework without affecting the way the desktop site looks

Happy to take a look at the site if you want to put it up on here or send me a pm

 

[fisicx]

I want a mobile site based on my existing desktop site that mobile users can be diverted to.

Mobile is anything from a phone right up to a large tablet. Are you suggesting anyone not on a desktop gets the same mobile version of the site?

This is why you need a responsive website - anything else is just money down the drain.

 

[neils3]

Slightly confusing with the description but basically I think you're just looking for someone to help make your current site look great on mobiles as well.

I see two viable options for this:

1. Create a new site that is mobile responsive and migrate your existing content to this new site - from your comments you clearly don't want a whole new site

2. Improve your current site to make it mobile responsive - as ryedale suggests, this is probably the best option

Diverting to a new site is not the way to go, keep everything in one place and make a strategic change.

 

[deniser]

No, this is the problem I am having, everyone keeps telling me to get a responsive site when that is not what I want! Apologies, my fault as I wasn't very clear.

I just want a mobile site that functions as an m. site so that when visitors visit my site they stay on the existing site if using a desktop or iPad or get diverted to the m. site if they are using a phone.

The reason I want this is because we are already in the process of setting up a brand new responsive site to which the original site will eventually be transferred when we are confident that all the links can be transferred properly.

But in the meantime - because the above exercise is due to take six months or so and because we are losing vast amounts of traffic because the site is not mobile friendly - I need a very basic mobile site for the reasons explained in para 2 above - to deal with the mobile traffic in the interim.

Would love nothing more than to make the existing site responsive but unfortunately, the existing site cannot be made responsive - have shown it to a lot of people and they say it is impossible because of its antiquated structure. It also has a number of fundamental flaws which need to be corrected.

So looking for someone who can design me a mobile site or adapt one of the existing DIY ones such as Duda to function with the shopping cart as a temporary solution.

 

[Andrew Chambers]

GoMobi may be worth a look for a immediate and cheap solution to keep your site mobile friendly while you get the ecommerce side etc sorted out.

 

[Alan]

function with the shopping cart as a temporary solution.

That is the issue. What is the shopping cart?

Creating a mobile site that gets redirected too is simple enough, but obviously so 2010 that no web developer would actually recommend it (hence the problem you have with the feedback in this thread).

The issue is the shopping cart, as I'm assuming you want to use the same product directory & payment gateways, so everything hinges on the cart. If it is a current 'off the shelf' cart like Woocommerce or Opencart, then in reality it is just a matter of overlaying an off the shelf responsive theme (I do get you want a mobile site) theme that get redirected to on mobiles only (the fact that it is responsive is irrelevant as it will only be seen on mobiles).

But from what you said your existing site is unlikley to fall into the 'easy' category as it sound like you have some form of custom site.

 

[HazelC]

I'd have a chat with Geek Designs, I work with them and they have created some pretty good stuff. Plus - they can advise you in 'real language' of the best solution for your needs

 

[antropy]

we are losing vast amounts of traffic because the site is not mobile friendly

So let's be clear on the actual goal, you want your site to pass this test because of the changes brought in on April 21st 2015 right?
https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

If so, I would have thought that could be done quite quickly without having a separate mobile site. Feel free to contact us.

 

[deniser]

But from what you said your existing site is unlikley to fall into the 'easy' category as it sound like you have some form of custom site.

Yes, it's custom built and that's where the problem lies.

 

[deniser]

So let's be clear on the actual goal, you want your site to pass this test because of the changes brought in on April 21st 2015 right?
https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

If so, I would have thought that could be done quite quickly without having a separate mobile site. Feel free to contact us.

Yes. But how?

 

[deniser]

GoMobi may be worth a look for a immediate and cheap solution to keep your site mobile friendly while you get the ecommerce side etc sorted out.

Thanks - have tried this and similar but they don't work properly for ecommerce sites. Duda mobile was the closest.

 

[Andrew Chambers]

Thanks - have tried this and similar but they don't work properly for ecommerce sites. Duda mobile was the closest.

Sorry, I was thinking as just a stop gap for now so Google see's your site as mobile friendly. Maybe "home page", "about us", "our products", " contact us" and a "visit desktop site to shop" pages/buttons for example.

 

[dtdigital]

Get in touch with my developer friend, http://icd-studio.com, he's currently got a special offer for responsive mobile sites for £300.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Moving to a responsive site should not affect links, if you just change the design!

If you are using a popular platform -Joomla, WP, ecommerce etc, just changing the template/theme does not mean a total rewrite. If you are changing platforms, sure, link work is needed.

Separate mobile sites only existed because full sites were not good on mobile platforms. With the arrival of responsive sites, please think twice about spending money on a new site AND a mobile site, as the mobile one will be redundant as soon as the new site launches.

Focus on the new site!

 

[Michael Beardsell]

I have to agree with many of the comments above, and although your thoughts are to just have a mobile version built would fix your issues, from a marketing point of view it would be detrimental to your business. Googles algorithm changes are there to improve the journey of the prospective client, so if businesses don't try to take short cuts and quick fixes to improve rankings, and they abide by the boundaries set out, they are much more likely to feature you higher up the search rankings, provided you are working this across multi-channels such as SEO and Social Media. So in a nutshell have a responsive website built and don't dilute the website into 2 seperate sites.

 

[CH Design]

Agree with the above comment really should just have one site that is properly compatible across all platforms instead of the two separate sites. These days all websites built should be compatible across all platforms anyway