Let me build sites with iPad, please please please please!

[deeprootsmarketing]

Hey all! Themeco’s the best imo, no question. Thank you for creating the best page builder around!

However, the writing’s been on the wall for several years at this point that us web designers want the ability to build our sites on the iPad. I know there’s a lot of complexity that goes into satisfying this desire from a code base standpoint, I do. But it’s been a topic of discussion since at least 2015, according to one thread, and there have been other threads on this topic in the years since (see here and here).

I read the monthly status reports, and I realize you’re not resting on your laurels (that’s why I love Themeco – you’re always pushing to the next level of excellence). Unfortunately, though, while I can do the old-school thing and use Coda by Panic on iOS to upload/download files to/from an SFTP, and can fully edit a site’s code on there, I still can’t use Themeco’s page builder on iOS. I do realize it’s complicated to integrate with touchscreens, but they are very clearly where things have been heading for a while, so I’m hopeful we can find some sort of solution.

I just got the 2018 12.9” iPad Pro with all the bells and whistles, and ridiculously expensive accessories. It cost a lot, and I am finding it difficult to justify the purchase to my wife because I still need the MacBook Pro when I want to go sit at a coffee shop and build a site.

I bought Screens on iOS and macOS a long time ago, and am about to test that implementation out. It’ll allow me to remotely control my 2017 27” 5K iMac sitting on my desk at home, from my iPad. It’s not going to be a beautiful, simple native experience, but it may just me the ability to walk out of the house with nothing but my iPad Pro (my dream device!).

Again, thanks for a great product, and I suppose if you have to choose between providing new, improved features to your core product, and supporting a platform that’s not nearly as popular as traditional computers, I understand why you haven’t provided support for this yet.

But still… you know?

Hey, if you’re ever looking to bring in some fresh blood to the team, here I am! Lol.

[deeprootsmarketing]

Quick update for all interested:

I’m successfully using Screens for iOS ($20; also, read The Sweet Setup’s review of it here) to build out a website on my iPad! It is possible.

There are some caveats, however.

1. It drains your iPad’s battery, which stinks. If you want to do this regularly, you’ll need to buy a power bank.
2. It’s data-heavy. You’re basically doing a live-stream video feed type of thing. In about an hour of use, I used nearly a quarter of a gig of my cellular data. When I added my cellular data plan to my iPad, I opted for 1GB of data per month ($10/month at AT&T) just so I could watch and see how much data I needed. I’ll clearly need to upgrade to unlimited data for $20/month, but AT&T throttles you after 22GB of use, and I could see myself potentially running into that throttle towards the end of the month.
3. Scrolling is annoying. It’s not seamless. You have to think about it, and it makes me feel like I need to clench my jaw because I’m worried about clicking something on accident while trying to scroll. BTW, you use two fingers to scroll when using Screens on iOS, just like if you were using a trackpad on macOS. As an aside, Screens has an in-app purchase that lets you turn another iOS device into a trackpad, so I can use my iPhone in conjunction with my iPad to control the iMac.
4. My 27” iMac screen makes everything look quite small on my iPad. Not uselessly small; just smaller than is comfortable. There are two things you can do to combat this. One is to use the Apple Pencil to actually click things, and the other is an option in the bottom right corner of Screens: Zoom to 1:1. This will allow you to view the screen at regular scale, where each pixel is represented at it’s normal size. This, of course, means that you won’t see the full screen all at once, but it can be useful sometimes. For me, I just choose to view the full screen and use the Apple Pencil to get more precise selections and taps.

Hope that helps someone out there thinking about doing this!

[nabeel]

Hi Philip,

Thank you for the detailed write-up and thank you for providing a solution that works. We already have this as a feature request, currently the builder is meant to be used in non-touch devices.

Thank you for sharing the solution with us. Cheers!