Using a Tablet to edit your website
Will you will ever want to edit your site with a tablet? If so, you need to select your website software accordingly.
THE RISE OF TABLETS
What sort of computer will you be using in five to ten years?
That needs to influence your decision about website software now.
For almost a decade, people have been moving away from traditional PCs and Macs. Instead, they are using tablets such as an iPad.
That was brought into sharp focus in late 2018 when Apple CEO Tim Cook said this:
iPad is not only the most popular tablet in the world, but also the most popular computer in the world!
If you think you will ever want to use a tablet to edit your website, you need to take that into account now.
And in the days ahead, as your site grows, other people might be helping with your site. There is a good chance they will be more familiar with tablets than PCs or Macs.
TABLET-COMPATIBLE
Quite surprisingly, only a very few website software systems are 100% compatible with tablets. And I do not expect that to change, at least not in the near-term future.
Here are some website software systems I find can be adminstered entirely from an iPad:
Blot.im
This is my favorite CMS. This very website runs on Blot!
See the official Blot website.
concrete5
I’ve been working in the Concrete CMS for more a dozen years.
I find it works pretty well with my iPad.
With just an iPad and keyboard and mouse, I can do all my work in Concrete.
See our articles about concrete5.
Directus
I’ve been working in the Directus CMS for six years.
I’ve found an iPad can do every task in Directus.
See our articles about Directus.
Weebly
This is a “Website Builder.”
From the beginning, it was deliberately engineered to work with tablets and smartphones.
WordPress
I’ve been working in the WordPress CMS for more 13 years.
For most of those years, the iPad was incompatible with WordPress. But then with iPadOS 13, Apple introduced the “Desktop-Class” browser.
In my own testing, I quickly realized the term “Desktop-Class” browser was a marketing term, and not a statement of fact.
In any case, with iPadOS 13, the iPad was finally able to do at least some work in WordPress.
It wasn’t great. It was merely tolerable.
But “tolerable” was a big improvement compared with “incompatible.”
In iOS 14, I found the Safari browser was much better.
And in iOS 15, I found the iPad can do every tasks I attempted in WordPress.
THE DISAPPOINTING WORLD OF MOBILE APPS
Nowadays most web CMSs have a mobile app. They claim that with their app, you can “do” your site.
However, in every case I’ve investigated, I find those apps are quite disappointing. And limited.
Or too inefficient at producing outcomes.
Let’s take WordPress as an example. I’m quite fond of WordPress. I’ve had a large WordPress site for over a decade.
But I can’t use the WordPress app:
- It only lets you do simplistic things
- The app strips out some HTML code that is important to my site (and most sites)
- The app copies your entire website into itself. My WordPress site has nearly 1,500 pages. The app can’t handle all those pages.
- I’ve had disasterous syncing problems due to the app
Beyond the WordPress app, there are lots of third-party apps that work with WordPress.
In my own testing of all the popular apps and recommended apps, I find them all to be awful.
I’ve worked with other apps for CMSs as well. They’ve all had problems and limitations. They seem more like a marketing gimmick than a legitimate solution.
SMARTPHONE-COMPATIBILITY
Generally speaking, if a CMS works well with a tablet, it will probably also work with a smartphone. That can be really handy.
From anywhere, even if you only have your smartphone, you can still log into your site and take care of things as they arise.
Otherwise, you will need to lug around your PC or Mac everywhere you go, in order to be able to take care things as they arise.
NOTES
Note 1. October 30, 2018, Apple Media Event, at the Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn.
Watch the Keynote Address at YouTube.
Originally published on January 2, 2021
Last updated on September 14, 2023
TOPICS: Blot, CMS, Concrete, Directus, iOS, Mac, Website,