My apologies for a more “theoretical” question, though I suppose this is more of a “state-of-the-industry” question: I’m curious about the options available for building a website meant to target multiple platforms (desktop browsers + touchscreen devices, like tablets and smartphones).
Technologies like CSS3 Media Queries give us the ability to format our content based on screen size (among other things), which is great – but what about other functionality? For instance, touch events – these can still get very sticky depending on what device you’re targeting, etc. So is it possible to build one site to target all of these platforms? Or is it still necessary/better to use device detection scripts to redirect to versions of the site meant for touchscreens (Apple-devices or otherwise)? Or perhaps, does it depend on what you want to do? Is there a line drawn that, once crossed, would require a separate version of a site to be made? Anyone care to share their experiences?
It all depends on how complex your website features will and and how they differentiate from the offline or online version.
Sometimes it’s better to make a totally different version of your website and redirect to it, sometimes, a few touchevents calls on the page will not make any different for desktop users, while mobile will see something different.
One good case to look at is the WP-Touch plugin for WordPress. While you have a version of wordpress for regular browsers, it tweaks PHP into delivering a totally different and mobile experience for the mobile user.
If you have the patience, resources and time to make a proper mobile website from your regular one, do it! If you don’t, a different stylesheet and some touch events properly coded can seal the deal