Building a Mobile Drupal Site

Building a Mobile Drupal SitePresented by Mark W. Jarrell mark@ﬂeetthought.com Twitter: attheshowApril 30, 2011DrupalCamp Nashville

Overview✤ Showcasing the new Austin Peay State University mobile site (m.apsu.edu)✤ Talking about development process✤ How it works

Why is this site important?✤ APSU already has native iPhone and Android apps. Needed something that would work for other devices too✤ Since most administrators are using touch screen devices, still focused primarily on optimizing interface for iPhone/Android✤ This site is more likely to be used by people who arent currently part of the university e.g., potential students, community members, potential employees

Going Mobile - Methods✤ A) Keep current site theme same, use separate theme for mobile browsers. Only one URL.

Going Mobile - Methods✤ B) Keep current site same, add a new mobile site with a separate URL and redirect users to that.

Going Mobile - Methods✤ C) Restyle current site such that it works better on mobile browsers (CSS3 Media Queries) - See http://bit.ly/dWqtGm

Going Mobile - Methods✤ We chose: B) Keep current site same, add a new mobile site with a separate URL and redirect users to that.

What was the process?(Executive Summary)✤ Worked with Public Relations and Admissions to come up with a feature list✤ Designed initial theme✤ Originally started building this site in Drupal 6

What was the process?(Executive Summary)✤ Upgraded content to D7 in January/February✤ Upgraded theme and custom modules to D7 in February/March✤ Converted existing theme to be a subtheme of "jQM" theme in April✤ Added in jQuery Mobile module/library in April✤ Site ofﬁcially launched this week

Content - What goes into the site?✤ Whats do we include here in mobile version thats not on the main site? ✤ Focus: on-the-go users ✤ Prepared for quick actions (e.g., Request Info, Campus Map, Schedule Campus Tour, etc.) ✤ Keep everything as "slim" as you can. Try to make it bite-sized. Less text unless it’s a news article or blog post ✤ Make your forms as short as you possibly can or youll lose them

Whats jQuery Mobile?✤ http://jquerymobile.com/✤ "Touch-Optimized Web Framework for Smartphones & Tablets"✤ Basically gives you ways to stylize your HTML5 content and page elements such that they are easier for ﬁngers (as opposed to point & click) to interact with

HTML5✤ <!DOCTYPE html> (Way simpler than doctypes in HTML4!)✤ jQuery Mobile only works with HTML5 <section> <article> etc. not necessary to get it up and running.✤ jQuery Mobile elements are initialized when "data-role" attributes exist in your HTML code✤ Example: Radio buttons add <ﬁeldset data-role="controlgroup"></ ﬁeldset> around your buttons ✤ Demo: http://jquerymobile.com/demos/1.0a4.1/#docs/forms/forms- radiobuttons.html

Page Refreshes✤ Page loads are done via AJAX-style requests. Browser doesn’t refresh the page when it changes.✤ Have to add HTML5 elements like <div data-role="content"></div> ...into your page.tpl.php ﬁle✤ Allows you to do smartphone style transitions such as wipes from one page to another.✤ Note: The page refresh method of jQuery Mobile makes interacting with the admin interface tricky. Usually have to type in /admin to get to admin theme.

What are jQM and the jQueryMobile module?✤ These are developed by Tree House Agency (NJ Drupal shop)✤ “jQM” is a base theme like Zen, etc.✤ It modiﬁes your form elements so that they have necessary data-role information. Also adds some useful classes to your page that you can use in your CSS✤ Modify these template ﬁles and drop them into your subtheme

What are jQM and the jQueryMobile module?✤ jQuery Mobile module - Adds the JS library into your pages ✤ Also currently includes a patch to make the basic library work with Drupal better ✤ Get the one at Drupal.org called “jquerymobile” not “jquery_mobile”

Mobile Tools Module✤ This goes on your main site and controls who sees what✤ Includes a lot of functionality like: ✤ Built in mobile browser detection capability ✤ Theme switching ✤ Redirection ✤ Use of external libraries for browser detection such as WURFL and Browscap

Recap✤ How it works: User comes to www.apsu.edu using a mobile device, gets redirect to mobile site✤ m.apsu.edu has much lighter content, focused on a user who is on-the-go✤ Get to use a touch-oriented UI (if their smartphone supports HTML5, JS, etc.). Otherwise, they see more basic HTML version of content.

Recap✤ Modules & Themes Used ✤ jQM - base theme ✤ jQuery Mobile - module & JS library ✤ Mobile Tools - module for detection and redirection

Further Reading Links✤ “Mobile Marketing: Strategy challenges for advancement and enrollment” session with Bob Johnson http://www.slideshare.net/bestbob/mobile-marketing-strategy- challenges-for-advancement-and-enrollment✤ DrupalCon Chicago Presentation from Treehouse Agency: http://chicago2011.drupal.org/sessions/drupal-go-jquery-mobile✤ Metal Toad article on CSS3 Media Queries (if you’re going that route): http://bit.ly/dWqtGm

Building a Mobile Drupal SitePresented by Mark W. Jarrell mark@ﬂeetthought.com Twitter: attheshowApril 30, 2011DrupalCamp Nashville

Need Help?✤ Consulting✤ Theming mark@ﬂeetthought.com✤ Module Development✤ Training✤ Migrating a legacy system to Drupal

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Building a Mobile Drupal Site

by Mark Jarrell

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