davo Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 I know very little about creating iOS and android apps, but I was wondering is it possible to convert a wp based site to one of these? I've heard of phone gap but never used it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 The short answer is yes and no. What you can't do is run PHP or mySQL on a phone, but you can create an app that pulls data from an online database. You would likely be developing in HTML and Javascript if using Phonegap though and using AJAX requests to fetch the data from the website. The alternative is to create a static HTML site and package that as a phone app using PhoneGap or some other program, but that's a bit limiting. Setting up Phonegap took me ages as there are a lot of other things you also need to set up and the documentation can be a bit unhelpful in places (out of date instructions or bits missing when I last followed the instructions), but it can be fun once you get going - not something you would do unless you enjoy a challenge though in my opinion. The real question is: if this is a normal website then why have an app unless there is something special you want to do with the app? Making the website layout responsive would work just as well on mobile with less hassle, so I think we need to know a bit more about why you want it to be an app before being able to help further. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Completely agree with Pete - having an app that replicates the functionality of a website is sometimes what clients want, but it really makes no sense. Honestly I think a lot of apps out there would work just fine as responsive sites instead. That said, there are obviously great benefits to the app approach when appropriate and the functionality is targeted. One way to make the phonegap experience a little less daunting is to use "phonegap build" which allows you to avoid a lot of unpleasant steps, although the Apple provisioning stuff is still a PITA. You can't just convert a website with phonegap unless the site is very basic and non-interactive. Once the user has the ability to query a database of changing content, you need to provide a mechanism for that content to be pulled into the app. The css, html, and js files are installed to the device (via the phonegap process). The content can be a mix of static content as part of the html and then the dynamic stuff that is pulled from a database via ajax and usually JSON. For web developers with a strong jquery skillset, jquerymobile is an ok approach to get going, although it can quickly become a painful process and I don't think I'll do it again. There are a lot of other frameworks and tools out there that can help. One that I think is worth taking a serious look at is ionic (http://ionicframework.com/). It makes use of AngularJS which, once you get over the learning curve, gives a lot of power and the apps feel much more native than with jquerymobile. Google around for "mobile app html5 framework" to see what else is out there and looks like it will work for you. If you don't have strong javascript/ajax experience, it will be a struggle to get going as you need to rethink how things are done. Good luck! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr-fan Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 very interesting growing project, too is this one: https://software.intel.com/en-us/html5/videos/getting-started-with-the-intel-xdk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davo Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 The short answer is yes and no. What you can't do is run PHP or mySQL on a phone, but you can create an app that pulls data from an online database. You would likely be developing in HTML and Javascript if using Phonegap though and using AJAX requests to fetch the data from the website. The alternative is to create a static HTML site and package that as a phone app using PhoneGap or some other program, but that's a bit limiting. Setting up Phonegap took me ages as there are a lot of other things you also need to set up and the documentation can be a bit unhelpful in places (out of date instructions or bits missing when I last followed the instructions), but it can be fun once you get going - not something you would do unless you enjoy a challenge though in my opinion. The real question is: if this is a normal website then why have an app unless there is something special you want to do with the app? Making the website layout responsive would work just as well on mobile with less hassle, so I think we need to know a bit more about why you want it to be an app before being able to help further. Thanks Pete That makes a lot of sense. Ajax and json isn't something I'm proficient in yet. I suppose I could make a slimmed down version of the site, and then use something like httrack to clone the site to html and then package that using phone gap. Of course, as data gets updated, the app wouldn't, unless of course the static app had regular updates. Doesn't sound viable yet. Completely agree with Pete - having an app that replicates the functionality of a website is sometimes what clients want, but it really makes no sense. Honestly I think a lot of apps out there would work just fine as responsive sites instead. That said, there are obviously great benefits to the app approach when appropriate and the functionality is targeted. One way to make the phonegap experience a little less daunting is to use "phonegap build" which allows you to avoid a lot of unpleasant steps, although the Apple provisioning stuff is still a PITA. You can't just convert a website with phonegap unless the site is very basic and non-interactive. Once the user has the ability to query a database of changing content, you need to provide a mechanism for that content to be pulled into the app. The css, html, and js files are installed to the device (via the phonegap process). The content can be a mix of static content as part of the html and then the dynamic stuff that is pulled from a database via ajax and usually JSON. For web developers with a strong jquery skillset, jquerymobile is an ok approach to get going, although it can quickly become a painful process and I don't think I'll do it again. There are a lot of other frameworks and tools out there that can help. One that I think is worth taking a serious look at is ionic (http://ionicframework.com/). It makes use of AngularJS which, once you get over the learning curve, gives a lot of power and the apps feel much more native than with jquerymobile. Google around for "mobile app html5 framework" to see what else is out there and looks like it will work for you. If you don't have strong javascript/ajax experience, it will be a struggle to get going as you need to rethink how things are done. Good luck! Thank you. I'll have a look at those links. I do also agree, seems little point turning a dynamic site into an app... But sometimes I'm driven by a clients whim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostKobrakai Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Maybe take a look here: http://boagworld.com/mobile-web/mobile-app-vs-mobile-website-design/ and at the video linked at the end of the article. Apps can be great but most of the time a simple website is the better option. I sometimes wonder what some companies think that people would happily download. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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