Today, mobile phones have replaced the conventional desktop computers when it comes to surfing the Internet for finding information related to different topics of interest. As a business owner, running a perfect corporate website should top your list of priorities. Plus, ensuring the mobile-friendly status of your site is something that you need to look into well. If you're operating a WordPress site and are keen on making it compatible with the mobile phones, then this post will serve as your perfect guide. It is also worth mentioning that as of April 21, 2015, Google is officially considering mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor in their search engine ranking algorithm.
Here, I've offered some absolutely brilliant tips, which, if followed, seriously will enable you to effectively optimize your WordPress website for the mobile-sized screen.
1. Choose to Go the 'Plugins' Way
The very first choice offered by WordPress for making your site accessible on mobile devices is using plugins. If your site's content is more important than its design, then using plugins will get the work done faster. Here's a look at some of the finest plugins that would convert your desktop-based WordPress site into a mobile-compatible portal:
WordPress Mobile Pack
This WordPress plugin offers you the ability to customize different aspects related to your site such as color scheme, post editing, content creation etc.
JetPack
JetPack is a great WordPress plugin that is equipped with 33 high-end features which offer your WordPress site a lot more than a plain mobile responsive design. Installing this plugin onto your WordPress site will enable you to use the “Mobile Theme” feature as per which you can easily use custom CSS, contact forms and transform the image galleries using the Carousel, etc.
WPTouch
Available in two versions, free and premium, WPTouch is a plugin that displays the content of your website on a mobile-compatible theme. Used by more than 5.5 millions WordPress powered blogs, WPTouch comes with “Infinity Cache”- a feature that allows you to create a mobile-friendly website using mobile caching technology. With the WPTouch Pro version starting at an affordable price of $49, you can choose the plugin for creating a fantastic user experience for your mobile users.
WP Mobile Edition
WP Mobile Edition is yet another amazing WordPress plugin which allows you to turn your existing website into a mobile-friendly version that's specially optimized for mobile platforms like iOS, Android and Windows. WP Mobile Edition comes with a mobile switcher which automatically detects the device that's being used for viewing the WP site. Users are then free to switch to whichever version they want - desktop or mobile.
2. Remove Fancy Graphics From Your WordPress Website
Irrespective of the growing size of today's mobile devices, it is a fact that these gadgets would continue to remain smaller than an average desktop computer. Therefore, if you're interested in making your WP site mobile-friendly, simply do away with the heavy, fancy graphics, as they will significantly increase the site loading time - something that's a big 'No' for mobile users. Especially, if you're running a WordPress powered e-commerce website, then never bombard your shoppers with graphics that make things confusing and distracting.
3. Use a Responsive Theme for Your WordPress Website
Instead of getting into the hassles of coding for configuring your WordPress site to adapt to multiple mobile devices, it is better to use a mobile-ready/responsive theme from the very beginning. By following this technique, you won't have to worry about using any additional themes or plugins for making your site mobile-ready. Some of the most popular and highly recommended WordPress responsive themes include the ones mentioned below:
- Jigoshop
- WordPress' Twenty Series
- Scherzo and many more
4. Minimize Text Displayed On Your WordPress Site
Since mobile surfers have limited space on their screens to check out your products and services, it is recommended to include only the most important text on your WordPress site. Mobile visitors for your WP website won't scroll up and down or zoom in and out repetitively. Hence, make sure to get rid of all 'frills' that you might otherwise include in your site content for garnering a greater amount of visitor attention. Just ensure that the shoppers receive all the details that can aid them in making a well-informed purchase.
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