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The Internet is changing at a rapid pace, and that’s a hard but obvious fact. Now, more and more users are accessing the Internet through tablets, gaming devices, laptops, watches, and mobile devices.
That’s the reason having a mobile-optimized website, or mobile friendly website is extremely important for your business. So, if you have a WordPress Website, it’s time that you go on to make your WordPress Site Mobile Friendly.
The future holds for Mobile Friendly websites. With Google already in with the Mobile First Algorithm Update, there’s an obvious advantage for websites that are mobile friendly on mobile search rankings.
Moreover, mobile traffic has exceeded desktop traffic. Many businesses have been reported saying that 55% of all searches are from mobile devices. These numbers may vary by industry, but still, it’s safe to say that mobile is very important for your business.
So, it’s not only important to have a website, but moreover, you need to have a mobile-friendly website.
You can even check the mobile friendly aspect of your website using Google Webmaster Tools. For this, you need to submit your site to webmaster tools.
You need to access Search Traffic > Mobile Usability. You will get a detailed report showing any errors plaguing your site’s mobile friendliness and the proper fixes.
Having said this, there are many WordPress users who find that they are having misconceptions about responsive and mobile-friendly websites.
Some of the common misconceptions about responsive and mobile-friendly websites include:
A mobile-friendly website is responsive.
Every website needs to be responsive.
Only responsive websites work on mobile devices.
So, let’s take a closer look at what exactly do “responsive” and “mobile friendly” mean.
Every website needs to be responsive.
Only responsive websites work on mobile devices.
So, let’s take a closer look at what exactly do “responsive” and “mobile friendly” mean.
What’s a Responsive Website?
A Responsive website adapts and responds to the needs of the users based on the viewing device. With a Responsive design, the text and images are shown in a single-column display rather than a three-column layout.
Unnecessary images are hidden and don’t block or interfere with the more important information on the site’s smaller display. So, a responsive website adapts to the screen size of the viewing device. The appearance of the text, images, and menu change by the screen size of the viewing device.
Main Features of a Responsive Website
- Dynamic Content that changes with screen size of the viewing device
- You get optimized images
- Navigation is condensed
- Correct padding and spacing
- Reliant on mobile operating systems to function
You should go “Responsive” if the majority of your web traffic comes from mobile devices (at least 35%) or if you have complex site content or features.
What’s a Mobile Friendly Website?
A mobile-friendly website is designed to function the same way across devices. There is no usability concern irrespective of the device on which it is being viewed.
Main features in a Mobile Friendly Website
- Static content that doesn’t change
- Images display smaller
- Simplified navigation
- Not reliant on a mobile operating system for functioning properly
With a mobile friendly website, you can achieve a consistent website experience across all devices. You can have a simple text and image based website without any complex functions.
Benefits of using Mobile Friendly Websites
Improved User Experience – You don’t want mobile users to abandon your web page simply because they can’t easily browse and read the website content from their mobile device. With a mobile-friendly website in place, users can navigate your web pages easily. They can easily read the content which is mobile friendly.
Fast Loading Website – A mobile optimized website loads quickly. A normal website loads very slowly and may not load at all. A one second delay in page response can cause a 7% reduction in conversions.
Improved Mobile SEO – A mobile friendly website has increased the likelihood of ranking well in Google Mobile Search Results.
Also, you get Competitive Advantage over your competitors by having a beautifully optimized mobile website.
So, we can easily infer that mobile-friendly websites are necessary for your business if you want to acquire more customers and sales.
Here, we are listing some of the most popular Free WordPress Mobile Plugin with which you can make your website mobile-friendly.
Apart from using WordPress Mobile Plugins, you can also use responsive WordPress Theme to make your WordPress website responsive and mobile friendly for users.
As stated earlier, you should typically use a Responsive WordPress Theme if the majority of your web traffic comes from mobile devices. However, if you have plans for expansion, it is always better to use WordPress Mobile-Friendly Theme.
So, let us move on to see some of the most popular and powerful WordPress Plugins to make your site mobile friendly.
Free WordPress Mobile Plugins
WPtouch Mobile Plugin
The WPtouch Mobile Plugin is one of the most popular WordPress Mobile Site Plugin with which users can create a mobile friendly site. It is a lightweight mobile site plugin with a range of customization options and settings to make your site look exactly the way you want it to be.
It also comes with an elegant theme to help you get started.
The WPtouch Mobile Plugin automatically provides a mobile-optimized version of your website to the mobile users. So, with WPtouch Mobile Plugin in place, you have two versions of your site, one for desktop users and other for mobile users.
The WPtouch Mobile Plugin has an intuitive user-interface making it an easy-to-use plugin for all kinds of users irrespective of their technical expertise. It goes on to offer a premium quality user experience. It comes in a free version as well as pro version.
So, you can start with the free version and move on to the pro version when you want advanced functionality. For example, with the WPtouch pro version, you can have to advertise on the mobile version of your site and so can increase revenue through clicks.
The pro version also comes shipped with numerous niche-specific, mobile-optimized themes. So, you can set up a flawless mobile site in minutes.
Apart from its amazing features, the WPtouch Mobile Plugin provides support from the developers through the WordPress Forums. All-in-all, WPtouch Mobile Plugin is truly one of the best WordPress Plugins for optimizing your website for mobile devices.
Any Mobile Theme Switcher
The Any Mobile Theme Switcher plugin is one of the best WordPress solutions for creating mobile optimized websites. With Any Mobile Theme Switcher Plugin, you can create a fully responsive mobile site easily.
The plugin detects the mobile browser of the device that is opening your website and displays a theme accordingly. Moreover, users can select a different theme for displaying on different mobile browsers and devices.
The Any Mobile Theme Switcher plugin detects Android Smartphones and Tablets, iPhones and iPads, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Palm OS, and Opera Mini from the get-go.
The Any Mobile Theme Switcher Plugin comes in a free as well as pro version. Although the free version does not have tons of features, it’s nonetheless a good option to kick-start things. With its pro version, you can have separate homepages for different mobile devices. In addition to this, the pro version comes with integrated QR code and works seamlessly with the W3 Total Cache Plugin.
Moreover, Any Mobile Theme Switcher is easy to setup and easy to use. Plus, it offers support through the WordPress forums. All-in-all, Any Mobile Theme Switcher is a simple yet effective mobile optimization plugin for your WordPress site.
Jetpack Mobile Theme
Jetpack Mobile Theme is one of the simplest yet effective plugins for creating a mobile version of your WordPress site. Jetpack’s Mobile Theme is a great tool for setting up your mobile-optimized site quickly. Moreover, it is highly useful for newbie bloggers and webmasters who have just started to use WordPress platform and are not much technically inclined.
Jetpack’s Mobile Theme has been studded with ample functionalities for helping you to come with a mobile friendly website easily. Once it has been setup and activated, you get to select from two customization options.
You can also choose to display featured images and excerpts on the mobile version or not. Once your mobile optimized site is ready, your visitors get the leverage to choose the mobile version or desktop version. An option is displayed on the screen which enables users to switch between them.
WordPress Mobile Pack
The WordPress Mobile Pack enables webmasters to transform their website’s content into a progressive mobile web application that is compatible across different platforms. The plugin is specifically targeted at bloggers, content curators, and publishers helping them to appify their blog’s content without having to create a mobile app.
So, the WordPress Mobile Pack Plugin transforms your WordPress Site into a Mobile App. However, users can still access it from their mobile browsers. With WordPress Mobile Pack Plugin, making your site mobile responsive is a hassle-free process. You don’t have to mess around with complicated code or go on to hire a developer.
The WordPress Mobile Pack Plugin supports all major browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer 10, Android Native browsers, and Firefox. It helps you to create a mobile optimized web browsing experience for your site’s visitors that resembles an app browsing experience.
The plugin not only recognizes the device and browser your users employ to access your site, but it is also sensitive to the orientation of their device. So, your site will completely morph to fit their device screen size.
WordPress Mobile Pack is shipped with six different theme options so that your mobile visitors get a memorable browsing experience. You can even personalize the theme and can change its color palette, page elements, and typography so as to fit your business brand better.
Responsive WordPress Theme
Apart from using WordPress Plugin for making your website mobile friendly, WordPress users have another option up their sleeves. In fact, you can use any Responsive WordPress Theme for making your website mobile friendly. By using a Responsive WordPress Theme, your website looks fantastic on mobile devices, such as Smartphones and tablets.
It means that your WordPress website automatically adapts its layout so as to fit any screen resolution. So, you need not have a separate website for mobile devices. In fact, a responsive website is suitable for any device out there.
The usability is thoroughly taken care, and a responsive WordPress Theme is search engine friendly too. Plus, they are cost effective; content focused, cross-platform, easy to manage, and future proof.
Moreover, you get a wide variety of Responsive WordPress Themes out there. So, you easily choose and install the best Responsive WordPress Theme for your website and benefit from a responsive website with little effort.
Final Words
So, you see that you can easily make your WordPress site mobile friendly with the help of WordPress Mobile Plugins. The world goes mobile, and mobile friendly websites are the future of the Internet. If you don’t want to compromise on the usability of your website then the only way out for you is to make your WordPress site Mobile friendly. As more and more users are using mobile devices to browse your website, it makes every sense to mobile-optimize your website.
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