There are so many ways for someone to find your website these days.  Not long ago the only way to see the Internet was through a desktop computer.  Mobile devices have changed all that.  Cell phones, tablets, lap tops have created a demand to view the web on a rainbow of screen sizes.  So is your WordPress website ready for all of these?

To create a WordPress website that is ready for mobile devices you can do one of two things.  The first option is to have your WordPress theme be built with responsive design.  What is responsive design? Responsive design is the idea that design and development should respond to the environment in which it is being viewed.  For example if you are browsing the web on a 27” monitor should be similar if you are viewing the website on an iPhone.  They may look different but your experience should be seamless between the two environments.  You can read more about responsive design at some of these related articles:

Also you can check out this video just to see an example of responsive design in action.

The next option to put your website on mobile devices is to use a plugin.  Plugin are add-ons to your exsiting website that allow additional functionality.  All the plugin I’m discussing today have free stripped down versions available for you to try.  And for even more functionality you can pay for the advanced versions.  If you are not running a e-commerce website than the best plugin if you are going to pay for it would be WPTouch.  It would require some set up from your web master.

Along with these new devices there are new opportunities for you to enhance your readers experience on your WordPress website.  If your WordPress theme is not already responsive there are plugins to help you create this experience for your readers.  Like many plugins for WordPress they have a striped down free version and a totally customizable version that costs money.  It is my goal to give a brief description of various plugins out there at the free level as well as highlight what a paid for mobile plugin might get you.

  • WordPress Mobile Pack
  • WP Touch
  • Wapple Architect Mobile plugin
  • Mobify

WordPress Mobile Pack:

This plugin has the following functionality:

  • Mobile switcher to detect mobile visitors and provide an appropriate experience

  • Base mobile theme for quick-and-easy XHTML-MP compliance

  • Extended mobile themes so you can unleash your mobile creativity

  • Transcoding and device adaptation to optimise the mobile experience

  • DeviceAtlas integration for world-class adaptation

  • Mobile admin panel for when posts can’t wait

  • Mobile ad widget to make you some money

  • Barcode widget to help users bookmark your blog

The problem I see with this plugin is that its only been tested to WordPress version to 2.7 so its unclear if it will work with WordPress versions 3.0 and higher.

Wapple Architect Mobile Plugin:

This plugin seems complete.  It’s been tested for WordPress 3.2.  With this plugin you design the layout on a separete canvas that is provided by Wapple and then once its done it gets fed to the devices when people visit your URL.  This plugin has the following functionality:

  • Dynamic resizing of images

  • Retain SEO
  • Support for multi-lingual characters
  • Comment from mobile!
  • Upload mobile specific header/footer images
  • Advanced pagination

Mobify:

This plugin has some big name brands using it.  But the real benefit to this plugin when you pay for it is the commerce capability.  This plugin uses HTML5 to display your relevant conten to mobile devices.  There is no need to run two different sites and the updates are seamless.

  • Secure URL on all platforms
  • No proxy servers
  • Custom Mobile Widgets
  • IPad and tablet support

WPTouch:

This plugin I suggested earlier is really good out of the box as a free plugin.  But you get so many features with the Pro Single version of the site.  My favorite is that it creates your website as a web-app rather than looking like a website in a internet browser it’ll show up looking like a smart phone app.  You can also control your ads on the site for an additional source of revenue.  Here are some other features:
  • Includes: Spanish, German, French, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese and Japanese
  • Custom Ads
  • Works w/ WordPress 3.1 through 3.2+
  • Custom icons
  • iPad theme included
  • Threaded comments, inline replies
  • Social Networking Integration