In this article we’re going to look at tips and tweaks to give you better results with your GoMobi layouts.
The first thing we’re going to look at is the logo and what it should look like for the screen. I’ve placed a border around this logo so you can see what’s going on. This logo fills up way too much of the space and will look awful on the mobile screen.
To make it work and to give the logo ‘breathing room it needs some white space above and below. In this case there’s not much above or below but it’s enough because the software adds a bit of white space when your site is built. What’s more important is the white space on the sides.
And here’s an example with a circular logo.
Generally, if the logo is no more than 120 pixels high by a maximum of 300 pixels wide you’ll get the best results. The logo can be a bit smaller, just not larger or it could extend beyond the layout. For most logos, it’s a good idea to use GIF or PNG-8 files because they load faster. If you use the JPEG format with logos it tends to soften the text a bit. The full version of PNG would be a bettter choice instead, but the down side is that the files will be larger.
When building a layout, you’ll occasionally encounter a problem that seems impossible to solve. A case in point was with the Willie’s Bakery site. On the site you have the ability to add the Opening Hours to a panel and this information will automatically display on the mobile interface, showing when the business is open or closed and displaying the hours.
The issue is this: What happens if you want to display the hours for two or more businesses? On the surface, it would seem like you’re stuck.
Here’s the solution. In GoMobi, you have the ability to create custom pages. Simply scroll down the interface until you come to the Create a Page section. Click on it to open the panel. Here, you can create a custom page. This is what was done for the Willie’s Bakery site. The layout was programmed with basic HTML and pasted into the page. Then the icon was changed in the Advanced section to match the Hours of Operation icon.
Go to: m.williesbakery.mobi and When you click on the Hours of Operation, you’ll see the results of the changes. Here’s a screenshot above for your reference.
The Keep Me Informed feature allows you to make use of autoresponders, which will sign up a client’s email address to your list. When using email addresses avoid dashes or underscores. For whatever reason, this prevents the messages from being forwarded on.
When building a mobile site you have the options of just entering text or HTML code within the Site Builder, but you’re far better off to use an HTML editor. While you can do the work in the Site Builder, it’s cumbersome to use.
Images Gallery
This is where you load images into the Site Builder or link to an existing gallery. If you choose to upload images, make sure that you reduce the image size to no more than 350×350 pixels. This will make it much easier to upload the images. Dont make the mistake of thinking that the software will automatically resize images straight out of your camera. While it might work, it’s more likely to take a long time and either give you an error message or stop working completely. Save yourself the agrravation by reducing your images beforehand.
With the Images panel, set the radio button to: Or upload images to create gallery. You can also choose Grid View or List View. To load the images, click on the blue Add Images text. When the images load, you can also add a description to each.
Blog vs. RSS Feed
When building sites, you have the option of using the Blog feature or RSS feed. Be awere that the Blog option picks up some of the design elements such as menu bars and other bits and pieces. The result is that that page can appear to be cluttered and/or messy. A better option is to use the RSS feed, which tends to create a cleaner looking page.
Branding
When you build a GoMobi site, you’ll notice the GoMobi branding at the bottom of the pages by default. To remove that, scroll to the bottom of the Features tab and click on the Advanced panel. Place a checkmark by the Suppress branding heading and save that to the site, The branding will be removed.
That’s it for these GoMobi tips. With these lessons you’ll be well equipped to build mobile sites to impress the masses.
