“Mobile last” strategy approach for ASP.NET Webforms with “Multilayered webforms presentation architecture” #MobileLast

There can be several reasons why you just can’t upgrade, or you just don’t want a big project redoing all the web, involving editor redoing their content. If you’re pleased with your web, but missing a responsive site the easiest way is to only implement a responsive/mobile channel. Since you probably also stuck with Webforms instead of MVC, there is a way of implementing responsive channels without touching the web logic.

I haven’t seen many out there using this type of strategy, but I can tell it’s working, and in just one month we built our large scale site a new responsive mobile channel. This can applicable to all asp.net webforms project, and to EPiServer CMS 6. For later EPiServer version blog post coming soon.

Solution: Implement an alternate presentation layer and reusing the aspx code behind.

How can we do that? I call it “Multilayered webforms presentation architecture”

For each .aspx and .ascx, make a .resp.aspx and .resp.ascx and point it to the same code behind. The .resp.ascx uses a masterpage with appropriate html and style. The resp.aspx uses reference to .resp.ascx. or original ascx (not all ascx needs to be changed if there only is CSS changes).

Transfer the request to a “responsive” mobile template. With help of Server.TransferRequest method (not Request.Redirect). TransferRequest is transferring the request without the browser knowing anything about it, the browser request a page, but the server returns another page, in EPiServer, an other aspx-template.On each page code behind implement a logic in OnPreInit to transfer the page if you are on a mobile device.

protected override void OnPreInit(EventArgs e)
{
   base.OnPreInit(e);
   Utilities.TransferResponsiveWeb();
}

public void TransferResponsiveWeb()
{
   this.TransferResponsiveWeb(Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(HttpContext.Current.Request.CurrentExecutionFilePath));
}

public void TransferResponsiveWeb(string pagenameOrPath)
{
   pagenameOrPath = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(pagenameOrPath);
   if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(pagenameOrPath))
   {
      //Implement your own Logic in IsMobile for defining a mobile device
      //http://devblog.gosso.se/2016/10/implement-your-own-ismobile-check-with-handy-dev-functionality/
      if (this.IsMobile && HttpContext.Current.Request.FilePath.ToLower().IndexOf(".resp.") < 0)
      {
         string str = pagenameOrPath.Replace(".aspx", ".resp.aspx");
         str += (str.IndexOf("?") > 0 ? "&" : "?") + HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString.ToString();
         HttpContext.Current.Server.TransferRequest(str, true);   
         HttpContext.Current.Response.End(); // stop, or less the page continues running
      }
   }
}

Thats it! And it works!

Conclusion: With this mobile strategy approach you gain the following

No need for immoderate contributions from editors (probably only the communication part)
You could start with the most important mobile pages first, since the fallback is the desktop version.
Quite small overhead to get started
The URL in browser will be the same for the desktop site and in the mobile phone. Just like you want it.
It opens the possibility to go full responsive with the new channel.

Downside: When you work in Visual Studio projects in your .resp.aspx page, and you add new server controls, it may override the designer.cs of the page, so be attentive.

Another TIP: you could put the OnPreInit globaly in a basepage-class (this is an EPiServer example)

public abstract class MobileComplientPageBase<T> : EPiServer.TemplatePage<T> where T : PageData

//and on your aspnet pages inherit it

public partial class MyPage : MobileComplientPageBase<EpiPageTypes.MyPageType>

Solution: Implement an alternate presentation layer and reusing the aspx code behind.

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