User blogs

As a hobby I have been making websites since 1997.  I started by copying the html of the Daily Telegraph website and modifying it using notepad!  There are still people who use notepad to create websites!  Progress from there was to Microsoft FrontPage 2000 (FP).  This, like Windows XP was one of Microsoft's greatest creations.  I am using FP to this day!  It involves creating a website on your computer then upload it using File Transfer Protocol (FTP).  This is fine, but usually means only one computer holds the programmes required and would be a PC.  The FP programme only creates sites for PC screens.  Since 2000 we have seen the increased use of mobiles and tablets.  Often a PC website is very awkward to use on a mobile.  People will use their mobiles to check the smallest details, which means if your website is not easily useable, they will go elsewhere.

THE FUTURE

It is fairly obvious that a website needs to useable on a mobile phone.  Not only that, it needs to be useable on a PC and tablet.  Which is a big ask.  The answer to this problem is Adaptive or Responsive websites.  An adaptive site adjusts its size/layout in steps.  A responsive site adjusts infinitesimally.  You may have noticed that the WWIIRESW website is now a responsive one.  This forum is Adaptive (I think), but is a new creation of Oxwall, who are also trying to keep up with the times.

So that's it then?....Bob's your Uncle and jolly good!    Umm well....No it's not!  Whilst you were using your mobiles and tablets and leaving your PCs to die, the WWIIRESW webmaster was doing similar things and realising that he needed to be able to amend websites and information on mobiles and tablets.  So how does he get off his PC and onto phones and tablets?  Here's how -  He moves the website to a Content Management (CMS) system and starts using "cloud" software.

There are a lot of cloud tools out there nowadays and Google provides some valuable ones.  For example the WWIIRESW calendar is a Google calendar and can have multiple users amending information.  A change to a date reaches across, this forum, website pages and can be amended from a mobile anywhere.  The video section of this forum uses Google YouTube generally.  The newsletter is cloud based MailChimp.  Again accessible from any mobile, tablet or PC.

Recently I have been looking at cloud based databases and entry forms, so keep your eyes open for new advances in the way WWIIRESW reaches and helps re-enactors of the south west.