"Building a website on the iPad" Topic

Surprisingly, it is not easy to find a web builder than works purely off the iPad without some 'assistance' from a personal computer. Anyway, this post covers an App that should most things you want.

wargamers could use a site like this to run a narrative on an ongoing campaign or examples of their fine collections etc and then just post links here to to

link

Why not just use a blog?

blogger and squarespace both have apps for making posts from mobile devices.

Why not just use a blog – I want a very small separate site that has a download specific page, so that I have 1 space that collects all of those links to Dropbox, together with other immediate supporting pages. My blog posts are generally fairly significant pieces of work and I am never sure whether the work of regular posting is actually worthwhile and my webspace will in effect be 'my webspace' that I can retreat to, requiring minimal admin, should I ever choose to abandon the blog.

I have been a long time user of dedicated web space, which can live in almost timeless existence, for example I have not touched my DTP website for months, yet it remains as fit for purpose as it was at the time of my last update. Have an out of date blog and it just turns people away.

Link saxongames.com

Plenty of sources 'claim' to be mobile platforms for blogging etc, but it is still the case that few are able to be either all encompassing or able to fully run independently of a laptop or whatever. Blogsy was my third 'paid for' App before I settled on something that would give me most of what I wanted and even that does not give access to stats or comments, though I can fill that gap by going via the web browser which does work on the iPad in relation to those two points.

The feedback for the Blogger App in the Apple Store is 2 out of 5 and the comments by people there who have used it are not encouraging. The whole purpose of my posts is that people can go directly to the things that work without having some of the frustrations that I have had.

Posted this in the other threat. You can easily run a blogger or wordpress account using the apps they provide.

I want a very small separate site that has a download specific page, so that I have 1 space that collects all of those links to Dropbox, together with other immediate supporting pages.

Easy enough to do with a straightforward text editor to edit your HTML and an FTP client to upload to your web site.

Plenty of sources 'claim' to be mobile platforms for blogging etc, but it is still the case that few are able to be either all encompassing or able to fully run independently of a laptop or whatever.

All you need to manage a blog is a web browser. You don't have to use an "App".

MB – an iPad does not behave like a personal computer. You do not use FTP. Are you speaking from iPad experience and therefore I have got things wrong, or are you just talking generally about the way computers handle upload/downloads?

I cannot manage blogger with the iPad (iOS 7) via Safari. Even two Apps that I have bought have not managed the job. I have just noticed that one of them has been pulled for a 'major overhaul' and will be available again in late February.

MB – an iPad does not behave like a personal computer.

In what way does it not behave like a personal computer?

You do not use FTP.

An FTP client for the iPad:
link

Are you speaking from iPad experience and therefore I have got things wrong, or are you just talking generally about the way computers handle upload/downloads?

I have not used an iPad, but I have used Apple Macs. FTP is the standard File Transfer Protocol and is used on all modern computers. I have worked in the IT industry for over 30 years.

I cannot manage blogger with the iPad (iOS 7) via Safari.

Try another browser. There are plenty to choose from:
link
even Mozilla Firefox (IMHO the best browser available):
link

An iPad (or other iOS device) works differently to a PC (whether that PC is running Windows or Mac OS)

Probably the fundamental difference is that iOS does not expose the file system to the end user. Each app can store its own files, but there is not a general file system where all stuff is dumped. Most of the time this is great – you create and edit files with the app that created them (both on desktop and tablet).

But when it gets to editing of webpages it gets a bit more complex – as you want to edit text files (or preferably use a graphical editor) then want to uploaded them (e.g. FTP) then view them (e.g. a browser). Therefore a single app that can do all this is so much more useful.

I've messed around editing my webpages using iPad – but not really find anything great. I think one of the main issues is that everyone just wants to use blogs for end-user created content. So that decent free/cheap web editing software isn't being created – both on iOS and Mac OS. The pros are using Dreamweaver and everyone else is using a blog.

I keep thinking about moving my site over to a blog link – as I am finding it harder to maintain (all the editing of pictures, uploading them, linking to them, updating menu structures etc). But I too feel that blogs seem too focused on diary entries, rather than structured data formats.

Some current software options can be managed by an iPad, providing they have been created on a personal computer first, so Finding an iiPad app that can do everything is a good thing.

I manage my blog more as an organised set of articles, deliberately avoiding the 'diary' type entry. The blog does a good job at organising subject matter, the advantages of which are more obvious when the 'data base' gets big – on web building, I invariably get into a tangle of links as each new page is added and sub- structures start to strain.

The down side of the blog is that it can tend to be a hungry beast that needs feeding regularly if you are to keep the interest of others, it can be off putting to see a blog not updated for several months but this seems less obvious on a website

blogs feel much more rooted in the ' magazine' style of entertainment and potentially reach out to a greater audience because of the social integration software that the likes of google offer.

I am noticing increasing numbers of firms are splitting the function of their web presence, the website handles the catalogue and e-shop, while Facebook etc interfaces with the customers for the 'human' stuff.

Probably the fundamental difference is that iOS does not expose the file system to the end user.

Not directly, no.

Each app can store its own files, but there is not a general file system where all stuff is dumped.

Of course there's a general file system.
"iOS is derived from Mac OS X, with which it shares the Darwin foundation, and is therefore a Unix-like operating system by nature."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS
I have worked on UNIX and Linux operating systems for many years and can assure you that underlying the whole system is a general file system.
YouTube link

But when it gets to editing of webpages it gets a bit more complex – as you want to edit text files (or preferably use a graphical editor) then want to uploaded them (e.g. FTP) then view them (e.g. a browser). Therefore a single app that can do all this is so much more useful.

What you need then is a File Manager for iPad:
link

The down side of the blog is that it can tend to be a hungry beast that needs feeding regularly if you are to keep the interest of others, it can be off putting to see a blog not updated for several months but this seems less obvious on a website

Use Wordpress wordpress.com Using Wordpress you can organise your material as a set of static pages. You don't need to use the "diary style" entry at all.

Probably the fundamental difference is that iOS does not expose the file system to the end user.

The key word being expose.

Not that there isn't a file system. That the file system is not available to the end user.

Have you ever actually used iOS for anything? Have you ever used it for creating content using multiple apps?

Have you ever actually used iOS for anything? Have you ever used it for creating content using multiple apps?

Not quite sure what you mean by "multiple apps". You only need one app to edit text. And then use an FTP client to upload to the web site. An FTP client that couldn't access files created in another app wouldn't be much use to anyone.

I'm with Major here. Where is your web presence housed? What editing tools exist on that server/service? Web sites I maintain (both static and active/blog types) have a myriad of tools on the server side that I can access from a simple web browser. Are they the best editing tools, no. Do they preform their tasks adequately, yes. Do I use them, sometimes… am I at my desk or using a web browser on my iPad?

It sounds like you are looking for a content management system built as an app for iOS. I am pretty sure you will not find one. There is a fair amount of background support that is built into CMS that is not defined well in the iOS system hierarchy.

Apps, as how I understand your usage, are generally very self contained software packages that maintain little if any external interaction with the OS they run on. This is by design. It sandboxes the apps off from the OS thus protecting the OS from potential damage from the app. This also helps guarantee that the app will run smoothly as long as it conforms to the OS guidelines. Apps don't crash because of missing files, or a failure to communicate with a sound card.

What content are you creating on the iPad?

Ok Norm, after reading your article I would have to say that a large part of your problem is that you are looking for free space to do most of this work. Those type of sites generally do not have decent web building packages. Basically, you get what you have paid for. Please do not take offense. I think your thoughts are good and worth pursuing. But I do believe that you will find much more headache ahead.

No offence taken, I am pleased to have the input. Free hosting just happened to be a happy outcome. My problem that drove this search on my part was that I could not get my PDF's up onto a site like Boardgamegeek, because their uploader could only search my 'camera roll' ( which as you know is due to the sandboxing character of the iPad).

A combination of Dropbox and an easy use one stop web builder App has got around that problem. It allows me to carry on sharing work without cost and just makes my iPad a bit more functional.

I am just at the fun end of the hobby, looking to share some files. My post was never about saying that I have found an all singing, all dancing free web builder. The post was also aimed at 'iPad only users', who do have some difficulty with website management when starting from scratch. I think 'iPad only users' will have a better idea of where I am coming from, especially if they have been used to using the productivity capability of a laptop or desktop – which is quite a different world in terms of creative use than just having an iPad as your only tool.

The web builder is more than adequate for things like showcasing figures, projects or running campaigns etc. as an easy to use application for the hobbyist, i imagine that it will be useful. there is also the option of upgrading to the Pro version, which offers more.