Can a 1.4 PS site be converted to mobile friendly ?

[BlizzardUK]

Got some feedback saying my PS website is not mobile friendly. I use a template called Free Red 2. Version 1.4.8.

 

The website is aimed more at the older user over 60 so as we recently upgraded from a non PS shop to PS we don't really want to completely revamp already as it can get confusing, as I don't believe my template can be upgraded so would need a totally new one. My current template has also had minor adjustments made by a pro company at the start.

 

So simply speaking, is there an add-on I can buy that can make a 1.4.8 PS website work neatly on a mobile phone ?

 

Thanks for your advice.

[Dh42]

How long ago did you upgrade? That version has been out of service for 3 years. 

 

As for the mobile friendly, yes, it can be done. It will cost you an arm and a leg though and would be cheaper to upgrade to a more modern version. 

[tdr170]

Try this   http://addons.prestashop.com/en/6165-prestashop-mobile-template-14.html  

[BlizzardUK]

Thanks both. I upgraded the site to Prestashop about 2 years ago, which I know is not recent to most, but the majority of my customers are 60+, lots in their 70s, and it was a major change to move them from my previous site that hadn't been changed in 10+ years to the new design. So to change again to a new one so "soon" is risky, but also because I paid for modifications to be made to the template it would mean money lost. Not only this but I don't know if all my modules are compatible, some haven't been updated since 1.4 or 1.5. My site sells CDs and I have added 100s of sound sample clips (3 per CD) and I know an upgrade will likely remove these. Sadly they use flash too which I know will be gone due to HTML5. 
 

Thanks for the link to the 1.4 module, I saw that but wasn't sure if it works for my template, I will check it out though. If I install it does it completely change the desktop version of the site too ? Or do I keep my existing template for that ?

 

If I decide to upgrade my site, other than paying for it to be done, what is the safest way to upgrade while making sure everything still works ? I have intermediate skills and I am very worried I will be confident in starting the upgrade, do it, then find people can't order or I stuff things up. I am actually a family member running the web side of things for other family, so it is not technically my site, I am just the person who did most of the web work with help by others for some modifications. 

 

Is there any way for me to move my entire site to a test domain and try there first ? Then move it back ? I have Prestashop Manager which has a backup option.

Edited April 14, 2016 by BlizzardUK (see edit history)

[tdr170]

What you can do is create sub folder in the root of your install so if Prestashop is in public_html create one there name it something like shop14test.

 

 

Now using FTP downlaod all your shop files from the host to your hard drive once again to a folder named something like shop14 once this is done upload all the files to the folder you created.

 

Now log into your host and go to your database and export it, Now create a new database name it once again something like shop14test and import the database file you exported to it.

Now you have an exact copy of your shop in a sub folder for testing not to mention a backup if things ever go wrong with your main shop.

Now that you have created a new database you will need to edit the settings.inc.php file located in the config folder of the files you uploaded, you will need to change the following

 

define('__PS_BASE_URI__', '/');  to   define('__PS_BASE_URI__', '/shop14test/');

 

define('_DB_NAME_', 'whatever');  to  define('_DB_NAME_', 'newdatabase');

 

define('_DB_USER_', 'whatever');  to  define('_DB_USER_', 'newname');

 

define('_DB_PASSWD_', 'password');  to  define('_DB_PASSWD_', 'password');  (you can use the same password for both)

 

We are not done yet go to the admin section of the test shop will be something like yourdomain.com/shop14test/admin once there go to generators and regenerate your .htaccess and the robots.txt file.

Now go to maintenance and put the shop in maintenance mode and add your IP adress if not already there.

 

Now to keep the bots from indexing the site in the root folder of the main shop edit the robots.txt file and add    Disallow: /shop14test/  to the directories section.

 

You should now have a working test site click on the shop link at the top of the page and make sure the page opens to yourdomain.com/shop14test.

 

This seems like a lot I know but once you do it once you will see it is not that difficult to do, I always have a test site of my current version.

 

If you need more assistance just ask.

Edited April 14, 2016 by tdr170 (see edit history)

[BlizzardUK]

Wow, it works, thanks so much, I am amazed I managed to follow it Thanks so much.

 

Is there any way to give people with mobiles a choice if they decide to use the mobile theme or not ? I know there is a link at the very bottom of the page, but I wondered if there is any option for it to come up with "Mobile or Full" or anything like that ? Also if they choose "full site" how do they get back to the mobile site ? When I have clicked "View Full Site" on my mobile it says at the bottom "View Mobile Site" but clicking that doesn't work.

 

Also any idea what the "m.www.domainname.com" does ? Would that make people access via the M site ? That option is disabled at the moment. Is it best to enable it or is there a negative for this ?

Edited April 19, 2016 by BlizzardUK (see edit history)