In the last few years the way people access the Internet has changed dramatically. More and more users are using their mobile phones and other handheld devices to access the Internet. With more than 5 billion mobile users globally, this is a great opportunity to cash on. In such a scenario developing a mobile version of your WordPress website becomes a must. WordPress CMS being highly flexible and easy to use, allows you to develop a mobile version of the website without any great hassle. Developers can use Wireless Markup Language (WML) to code the mobile version of the website. This dynamic programing language automatically detects the browsing device and renders a relevant website.
WordPress development supports most of the modern smartphone platforms with customized applications such as WordPress for Nokia, WordPress for iOS, WordPress for BlackBerry, WordPress for Windows 7, WordPress for Android etc. There are a lot of tools and plugins available in WordPress which can be used to start a mobile version of the website. WordPress developers are making use of these plugins and customizing the mobile version of the website to offer mobile website users a good browsing experience on their mobile.
Tools to Start Mobile Version of WordPress Website
WordPress Mobile Pack –
One of the favorites with WordPress developers is that, this application allows to create a mobile website easily. This comes with a mobile switcher which detects the accessing devices and automatically redirects to mobile or desktop version of your website, it allows manual switching between the two versions. It also includes a mobile admin which allows developers manage the website using mobile device. Among other features include a mobile advertisement widget, mobile AdSense and a barcode widget helps in bookmarking the mobile website and integrate it with the desktop version.
WP Mobile Detector –
This amazing plugin of WordPress automatically detects the phone being used to access the website and categorizes between a smartphone and a standard phone. Once this is done it loads a relevant version (customized in case of a standard phone) of the WordPress website into the mobile browser. It can detect more than 5000 mobile handsets making it one of the most comprehensive tools for mobile development. If offers cross browser compatibility based on jQuery framework. It can also format the content and resize the images based on the handset’s features.
Wapple Architect Mobile Plugin –
This plugin functions similar to others with the only difference being that it detects the mobile devices through its cloud-based library instead of depending upon third-party tools. Once the browser and the phone have been detected it automatically renders a corresponding version of the WordPress website onto the browser. Many WordPress developers prefer it over others as it does away with the concept of hosting the mobile version separately on another domain or sub-domain. Webmasters can have a single domain name for both desktop and mobile versions of the website.
WordPress Multisite Mobile Edition –
This supports the WordPress website both in the normal and multi-site mode. It will make WordPress use the Carrington Mobile theme designed for mobile devices. This plugin helps detect the mobile browser automatically helping it render the WordPress website easily. This plugin is based on the WordPress Mobile Edition which automatically detects the handset being used to access in the website and offers a pleasurable viewing experience to the users.
WordPress development for mobile is a relatively new territory and you need to hire the services of a professional WordPress developer who has good command over development. Make sure you take a look at his portfolio to see if he has developed mobile sites in the past. A lot of web development firms also offer mobile development services and it would be a good choice for you to hire their services. Don’t treat mobile development as a mere extension of your website as it is a complete development project in itself.
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