It is becoming more apparent that I need to improve how the main AARoads renders on mobile devices. Among other issues, the LCP (largest contentful paint) numbers are not good and the layout is causing issues with usability.
I am not as savvy as I once was with web design, so I am blanking out on improvements I can make. Was hoping to pick the brain of anyone here. KEK Inc., JoePCool14, myosh_tino, anyone?
The main site is Wordpress based, with custom php scripts for the photo guides used throughout the site. I also have various plugins in place, and one gallery plugin in mind to replace the dated Shield Gallery script. I also intend to rebrand the "Albums" section as "Archives" and move away from using the NextGenGallery plugin that I have there.
I use Tapatalk, which has benefits (much better search functionality for whatever reason) and drawbacks (formatting, seems to miss some unread posts from time-to-time).
If AARoads became mobile-friendly to the point where I could give up this app, all the better.
Quote from: Rothman on July 19, 2023, 11:03:21 AM
I use Tapatalk, which has benefits (much better search functionality for whatever reason) and drawbacks (formatting, seems to miss some unread posts from time-to-time).
If AARoads became mobile-friendly to the point where I could give up this app, all the better.
Alex is asking about the main site, not the forum.
Quote from: 1 on July 19, 2023, 11:03:47 AM
Quote from: Rothman on July 19, 2023, 11:03:21 AM
I use Tapatalk, which has benefits (much better search functionality for whatever reason) and drawbacks (formatting, seems to miss some unread posts from time-to-time).
If AARoads became mobile-friendly to the point where I could give up this app, all the better.
Alex is asking about the main site, not the forum.
That's too bad. Wonder which is more visited.
I always thought the forum was fine on my phone, it was just chat that was unusable. I tried TapTalk for awhile but I ended preferring the vanilla forum.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 19, 2023, 11:20:59 AM
I always thought the forum was fine on my phone, it was just chat that was unusable. I tried TapTalk for awhile but I ended preferring the vanilla forum.
Might be my phone in terms of the zoom level or text wraparound...or the fact I typically hold my phone as portrait rather than landscape...
Quote from: Rothman on July 19, 2023, 11:27:00 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 19, 2023, 11:20:59 AM
I always thought the forum was fine on my phone, it was just chat that was unusable. I tried TapTalk for awhile but I ended preferring the vanilla forum.
Might be my phone in terms of the zoom level or text wraparound...or the fact I typically hold my phone as portrait rather than landscape...
In my case I'm likely aided significantly by frequent long periods or down time at work.
Quote from: Rothman on July 19, 2023, 11:05:51 AM
Quote from: 1 on July 19, 2023, 11:03:47 AM
Quote from: Rothman on July 19, 2023, 11:03:21 AM
I use Tapatalk, which has benefits (much better search functionality for whatever reason) and drawbacks (formatting, seems to miss some unread posts from time-to-time).
If AARoads became mobile-friendly to the point where I could give up this app, all the better.
Alex is asking about the main site, not the forum.
That's too bad. Wonder which is more visited.
Considering how sprawling AAroads is, I'm sure more people view Alex's photo and stories than come to look at your prattle on here.
Sucks to be your ego.
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on July 19, 2023, 11:07:00 PM
Quote from: Rothman on July 19, 2023, 11:05:51 AM
Quote from: 1 on July 19, 2023, 11:03:47 AM
Quote from: Rothman on July 19, 2023, 11:03:21 AM
I use Tapatalk, which has benefits (much better search functionality for whatever reason) and drawbacks (formatting, seems to miss some unread posts from time-to-time).
If AARoads became mobile-friendly to the point where I could give up this app, all the better.
Alex is asking about the main site, not the forum.
That's too bad. Wonder which is more visited.
Considering how sprawling AAroads is, I'm sure more people view Alex's photo and stories than come to look at your prattle on here.
Sucks to be your ego.
Not sure why this was called for.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 19, 2023, 11:20:59 AM
I always thought the forum was fine on my phone, it was just chat that was unusable. I tried TapTalk for awhile but I ended preferring the vanilla forum.
And we all know how the chat turned out... god, I wish it was still a thing. FWIW, I'm using the vanilla forum when I'm on mobile.
I use a basic Chrome screen on my Andriod phone to view the forums. Usually it's not too bad; I just need to zoom in sometimes to read the messages or what I'm writing.
The way that most websites handle this now is through "responsive design". This is when you have a section of the CSS stylesheet that only kicks in if the display window is less than a certain number of pixels wide. In this section of the stylesheet, you override the desktop rules to make buttons bigger and easier to click, text to not scroll as far, etc.
One benefit of this is that sites that have this type of stylesheet often get a bonus to their search ranking because they're now classed as "mobile friendly".