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Targeting content at mobile devices in SharePoint 2013

Targeting content at mobile devices in SharePoint 2013

The ever increasing popularity of smartphones and tablets has brought about many changes in the way consumers use technology. For example ‘Apps’ have in many cases replaced websites. Email, twitter, and Facebook are quickly overtaking more traditional forms of communication like text messaging. More fundamentally though, more people are now accessing the Internet on the move than from a desktop computer.

This shift to a mobile Internet has profound implications for web sites and web design. It is no longer OK to consider mobile versions of website as an afterthought.  After years of largely ignoring this area, Microsoft seems to have woken up to the issue with the release of SharePoint 2013.

Optimising SharePoint with Mobile Device Channels

For the first time SharePoint allows different master pages to be served up depending on the device that is accessing the site. This functionality is called “device channels”. In effect it allows different mobile users to see different versions of a page.

In order to configure devices channels you need to activate/deactivate the following site features:

  • Publishing - Activate
  • Mobile View - Deactivate
  • Wiki Page Home Page - Deactivate
Once you have done this you will need to create a specific “mobile” master page, and a corresponding device channel. A device channel is basically a set of rules which target a specific mobile browser. In the master page settings you then simply assign the new device channel to your new master page.

 

In effect this process is customising the “mobile view” of SharePoint pages for different mobile users. The standard mobile view feature is still available, and is very similar to the version that shipped with SharePoint 2010.

Other Mobile Features of SharePoint 2013

Devices channels, and mobiles views, aren’t the only considerations when it comes to designing mobile ready websites. Things like the use of JavaScript, file sizes, and content length also need to be considered. But they are a good addition to the developers tool kit, and a welcome new feature of a more mobile device friendly SharePoint 2013.

Kip Wagner

VP - Client services

Kip is a passionate sales leader that enjoys working with clients as much as he loves to build sales strategies and plan from the ground up. Kip joined the BrightStarr team to help the US organisation ride its next wave of growth and success.

He has spent the better part of a decade working closely with the Microsoft field, software product and partner teams to help solve difficult challenges for their joint customers.

“My passion? New paradigms: social media, cloud, mobile, and collaboration technologies that help people be more productive! Luckily that means I fit right in at BrightStarr”.

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