Yesterday we looked at how to test your website on mobile devices. If you discovered that your site looks small or just doesn’t display properly, you’ll need to create a mobile ready version. Today, we’ll look at how to make your WordPress website mobile ready using plugins.
Mobile template plugins
By adding a WordPress mobile template as a plugin to your site, you’ll be able to quickly and easily have a version of your site that displays well on multiple mobile devices. There are a number of free and paid templates available for your site.
Often mobile template plugins will override your normal template when displayed on a mobile device. They can be customized to match the branding of your site to some extent, and allow you to select features such as which page mobile visitors land on first. For a complete roundup, see 22 High Quality Mobile Friendly WordPress Themes.
I am using the free version of WP-Touch on my site, but may upgrade soon the Pro version to modify the template to match my branding.
You can see in the photo, my blog posts display at a size that can be viewed on the device.
It is important to use a mobile template plugin of some variety as visitors may reach your site via mobile devices. If they subscribe to your site via email and discover a post from their email on a mobile device, click a link from Facebook or Twitter on their phones, or just type in the address while on the go, they may land on any part of your site.
Mobile Landing Pages
Creating a specific page that you want visitors to land on via a mobile device is also important. Let’s say you want to use a QR Code on your business card, print materials, or a giant Powerpoint presentation to take visitors to a specific page. If they aren’t sitting in front of a computer, it could be complicated for them to reach a specific page within your site. By giving them a QR Code to scan that opens the specific page you want, you’ve made it easier for them to take action.
There are several ways to make a mobile landing page. Ideally, you’ll want to use a plugin to accomplish this.
Do I need both a mobile template and a mobile landing page? YES!
Yes, you will need both options most likely. Let’s say you publish your blog posts to Twitter or Facebook. Visitors can and will still discover your website from mobile devices, even if they aren’t going to the specific landing page you made for them. You can still optimize a mobile landing page for them that you share specifically.
If you need help making your website viewable from mobile devices, please contact me through GFYD Member. We’ll be happy to help.
Related articles
- Do Mobile Blog Templates Have Enough Substance For SEO? (searchengineland.com)
- Five common WordPress problems and the plugins that solve them (holisticsearch.co.uk)
- HOW TO Make A Mobile Version Of Your Website (businessinsider.com)
