If you look at your website analytics data, you will probably find that a large portion of your viewers are using mobile devices. For this blog, only 13% of my viewers are using a mobile device, but should I consider creating a mobile version of my template to cater to them? Mobile versions have many advantages, but there are too many disadvantages for me to want to create one for my blogs.
Pros:
- Mobile versions of websites resize themselves to fit on any smartphone display. It doesn’t matter if your readers visit using a BlackBerry or an iPhone, the mobile site will resize to the phone display size for the best reading optimization.
- It makes it easier for mobile readers to leave comments.
- If readers are using an older or smaller smartphone such as a Palm Pixi, they might automatically click the back button as soon as they see your site isn’t mobile. Not only does this destroy your website bounce rate, but you will loose one reader.
Cons:
- Unless you are using a responsive theme like Twenty Eleven, you will be stuck using a plugin like WP Touch or Elegant Themes Handheld. It’s not that these plugins are bad, but they probably look nothing like the desktop version of your site, which takes away branding and elegance. I spent a lot of time custom designing my blog Aquarium Watch and if I were to use WP Touch to create a mobile theme, it would put all of my design to waste.
- Mobile sites remove sidebar elements such as AdSense units, search bars, email subscriber lists, and affiliate ads. I spend a lot of time placing these in certain spots on Omega Web to get the best performance. If I were to have a mobile version of this blog, my mobile readers would never see the advertisements and I would never make money.
- All of the latest smartphones are capable of loading the desktop versions of websites. It doesn’t matter if it is Windows Phone, Android, or iOS – all modern smartphones can handle a desktop version of a WordPress blog.
The Verdict
The reason that I don’t use a mobile theme on my blogs is because of the lack of customization. If you buy the pro version of WP Touch or Handheld from Elegant Themes, you can customize the colors, but that’s about it. If I were to create a mobile site, I would want it to look exactly as my desktop version does. I have experimented with both WP Touch and Handheld and neither plugins work very well for me. I need something that simply shrinks your blog down to the mobile size, such as the WordPress theme Twenty Eleven.
Very nice and excellent review, thank you
hey i use WPTouch for mobile version, i think as a reader and its good for me to read myself.. i like is that way and keep it enabled!
Well. I preferred to have a good looking wapsite version of my blog. First, it loads more faster and also to let your readers know that you valuing there mobility.
Hi Robert,
You have done a nice job. I got very worthy information regarding advantages and disadvantages of having mobile version of blog. I really appreciate your great efforts in creating this informative article.
It’s always good to have a mobile version of your blog. U can get more traffic from the mobile surfing. Thanks for publishing and sharing.
Mobile version of wordpress is an better idea for user interface as it maintains the clarity of web design.
Actually having a mobile version on my blog has lot of benefits than demerits. Because if will have mobile version so that anyone can able to visit my blog through their mobile at anywhere in anytime. For this cause I highly supports mobile version of a blog. Thanks for your sound article. http://www.eyerideonline.com/
The idea of using mobile version of wordpress themes is to convey a good user interface which is best suited for the mobile format while maintaining the essence of the website design. With the advancement of iPhone, iPad and Android devices, mobile web design will only evolve to improve user experience
yeah this is good post….many users with mobile haing internet connections in thier phone…
As you say, there are both pros and cons. However, I think it depends on how you handle the mobile traffic. Some use responsive design for both mobile/web while some others use a dedicated mobile version and then both ways have their pros and cons 🙂
Right now, I’m using MobilePress, a WordPress plugin to display mobile theme for mobile devices. But, I think, it’s time to convert the WordPress blog theme to Responsive design.
Not using Responsive design right now, but I appreciate the technology, and is willing to adopt it for my WordPress blog.
Thanks for the bird eye view of the same. 🙂
Hi this site is useful i will bookmark. thank you ♥
What i have right now is the mobile apps with the responsive features but with this information I can probably change some features.
Hi Robert
I have been pondering this I have set up a blog and have just got an I pad and the first time I looked at it the other day to see what the mobile version came up like it was a bit of a disappointment. I am not quite sure what is going on but on the blog page things just didn’t flow and were positioned all wrong so nothing followed on. So I have no choice but to address this because it is not right .
So for me mobile version has to be yes thanks lee
These are good points Robert. 🙂 The Internet is really going towards mobile and if we would like to have more traffic to our sites and make sure that our visitors stay and come back, then making it compatible with mobile devices is a must. Thanks and looking forward for more tips.
Nice Website And Article Is Interesting thank You For Sharing Article With us Maybe I See Your New Article Soon Thank Your Sharing This Article With us ..
Google analytics have proven that the mobile version is a must have. My only regret is that we didn’t make the change sooner.
Look into responsive designs instead of pure mobile designs… It’ll pay off in the end 🙂
this information is very helpfull to me. .thank y0u. .
Hey Eberle,
Awesome post and I also really prefer mobile version of blog but you have also mentioned some important points that we should care for after all really informative and useful information with most important topic related that people love to read.
Thanks.
When I wrote this post, I didn’t have a mobile version at the time. However, I do now and I’m glad you like it 🙂
its always good to have a mobile version of your blog. U can get more traffic from the mobile surfing…..thnks 4 sharing
You’ve convinced me to go with a responsive theme. Nice post keep em coming!
I’m glad I could help. Do you like the responsive theme on this site?
It is better to use responsive themes for your websites that to create a separate mobile version site for your website. I am using responsive web design which has a great viewing experience.
I agree. I will be updating this blog to Genesis very soon which uses a responsive theme.
You have some points on why we should use a responsive theme. But what about SEO part. Will Google add a site with responsive theme to it’s mobile index? If not, nothing else matters. I’ll stick with mobile theme. Any ideas?
Check out this post on the official Google blog. They recommend using a responsive theme – http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/recommendations-for-building-smartphone.html
Hi Ian,
For me its always favourable to have a mobile version of your blog. A lot of tech-savvy users love to browse through their smartphones or tablets.
It all depends on if you want to be mobile accessible or not. My blog doesn’t have a mobile theme and although having one would make it easier to read on smartphones, the desktop version is sufficient.
Well yes, mobile sites remove sidebar elements like ad units, email subscriber lists etc and thus mobile readers would never see the ads and hence no money. And agreed it will be good to have a theme that simply shrinks the desktop version of blog to mobile version, hence keeping all the desktop version elements intact. Thanks Ian for the pros and cons 🙂
There are some themes out there on the market that do this. I know that Twenty Eleven does. And honestly, the only way I would use a mobile theme is if it shrunk the desktop site. I could hire a programmer to do it for me, but that would cost a lot of money and in the long run it would not be worth it.