Hey WordPress.com users — rejoice! Normally, I start my posts by telling you that a particular tool is for self-hosted blogs only. But this is the exception — you don’t need what I’m about to show you.
If you are NOT self-hosted but are on WordPress, your site is mobile friendly. You can thank WP for that. (BTW, if you do want to go self-hosted, I have a how-to guide here!)
If you ARE self-hosted…how does your website look on your smartphone?
I know I spend about as much time reading on my iPhone as I do on the laptop. And navigating blogs that have complication navigation, lots of photos and widgets, etc. can be really tough.
Example:
Imagine trying to read that?
So, I use the WP Touch plugin for WordPress.
And when you look at my site via phone, it looks like this:
And posts look like this:
Much better, no?
The plugin itself is easy to customize:
And while you can set it to default to the mobile view, there’s a button that users can click if they want to switch from one look to another.
When your site is mobile-friendly, it loads faster, is much easier to navigate and I promise, your readers will thank you.
Now, because the mobile-version gets rid of ads and most widgets, I don’t get credit for page views with my ad network, and my social bookmarks are a little more difficult to find. Readers can still comment and share easily, but it’s not the same.
But I don’t think mobile sites will replace full versions — at least not now. So I’d rather give readers a good experience on their phones, so they’ll pull up the page on their laptop later.
About Katy
These WP are awesome! Thanks for the links, definitely thinking of going self hosted one day, so these are helpful in letting me know what awaits!
Calvin recently posted..Beach Body decides to get in on the Pre-Workout Craze
I have more people download this plugin! I’ve used it since I switched to self-hosted because I hate readding blogs and having to wait for a whole site to load on my phone. It kills me (and my battery!).
Michelle recently posted..Weekly Menu & Workouts: ING Miami Race Week
Hope not have. Reading not readding. Gah typos.
I know you love this plugin and I actually had it on my blog for awhile but this is one of the few things that I have to disagree on. I actually prefer reading blogs on my phone the normal way. I think it’s just as easy to read the content by making the screen a little bigger (which is pretty easy on most smart phones) and I feel like I’m getting the “real” experience (and also supporting that blog’s pageviews). I also had an issue with the plugin that it was showing up on certain browsers as the mobile plugin version when it was on a real computer. That was what made me deactivate it actually.
Also, while not related to this specific plugin, whatever makes blogger blogs “mobile version” is horrific. You scroll just slightly the wrong way and it goes to a different post instead of down the page. That one drives me absolutely nuts!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen recently posted..Crispy curry roasted broccoflower
Thanks for sharing this plugin. I am also looking for new ways to improve my blog!
Mattie @ Comfy and Confident recently posted..Tough Love
I’ve been using this plugin for a while and I really like it. I wish everyone would use it–reading regular sites on a mobile device can be really difficult! So glad you took the time to mention it.
Emily @ Relishments recently posted..Star-Shaped Biscuits