A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites

I.M.Retired · 16th Sep 2011, 10:01 AM

Most of my customers use Wordpress for their websites.

My question is: Why would they need a separate mobile website when there are plugins available made to detect and present Wordpress sites in a mobile format?

Do the sites display nicely on most mobile phones when a WP plugin is used, or would the person be better to have a separate mobile version of their website? (I know mobile websites contain less text and smaller images, etc., but are there any other benefits to having a mobile site over a WP site that renders for mobiles via a plugin?)

Neil B · 16th Sep 2011, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by Val.S.

Most of my customers use Wordpress for their websites.

My question is: Why would they need a separate mobile website when there are plugins available made to detect and present Wordpress sites in a mobile format?

Do the sites display nicely on most mobile phones when a WP plugin is used, or would the person be better to have a separate mobile version of their website? (I know mobile websites contain less text and smaller images, etc., but are there any other benefits to having a mobile site over a WP site that renders for mobiles via a plugin?)

Good question and I know you’ll get different answers but here are my thoughts on the subject for what they’re worth ;-)

Some will tell you that ‘responsive design’ is the way forward whereby a single website will detect which website version to display depending on the visitors device, whatever that may be and in time to come I agree this will be the way forward but at the present time I go with providing a separate mobile version on its own sub-domain or .mobi URL.

In my opinion this helps with mobile SEO as Google mobile will recognise this as mobile content, this doesn’t happen when using most WP mobile plugins yet as Google mobile can’t tell if the content is optimised for mobile.

So you get two bites of the cherry, if that makes sense ;-)

Neil B

I.M.Retired · 16th Sep 2011, 10:37 AM

Thanks for the input Neil - I was thinking along those lines myself. However, many customers I have spoken to about this seem to feel that the added expense of an having additional .mobi website created is not needed when they already have a mobile plugin install on WP.

I go with providing a separate mobile version on its own sub-domain or .mobi URL

If the mobile version was on a sub-domain, would the url be http:// m.mysite.com (or mystie.m - any signigicant difference in the later format as far as Google is concerned?) rather than a separate site at mymobilesite.mobi.

If the latter, then the customer could simply put an addon domain on their hosting company so that they wouldn't need a separate hosting account?

Neil B · 16th Sep 2011, 10:54 AM

Hi Val

Well I guess it all depends on how much value a client see's in having a seperate mobile version of their site and being able to rank in the Google mobile search engine.

If you're not using a dedicated .mobi URL then I recommend using either mobile.yoursite.com or m.yoursite.com sub-domains as these are known to Google for presenting mobile content...here's a links to a google video which may help, it also covers the 'issue' of duplicate content when running a seperate mobile version of a site.

Cheers

Neil B

KCNL · 16th Sep 2011, 11:05 AM

Hi,

I use some mobile plugins on my wp sites but the point is you don`t have much control over the mobile site.
It just copies the blog content..
So thats a very good reason to sell them a mobile site, and ofcourse the seo benefits..

jrod014 · 16th Sep 2011, 11:13 AM

There are some coll themes/plugins for mobile websites out there. I know obox mobile (non aff link) WordPress (WP) Mobile Friendly Themes & Plugin allows you to build child themes on the framework.

So if you are comfortable with editing and creating themes then you can do so with obox.

Basically, if you can edit any wp theme in the code and css then you can create how you want obox to displat the mobile version of the WP site.

Plus it cas some cool features like orientation adjustments and swipe.

Hope that helps.

Jerry

Neil B · 16th Sep 2011, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by KCNL

Hi,

I use some mobile plugins on my wp sites but the point is you don`t have much control over the mobile site.
It just copies the blog content..
So thats a very good reason to sell them a mobile site, and ofcourse the seo benefits..

I totally agree KCNL...

Neil B

Jay Moreno · 16th Sep 2011, 01:58 PM

AFIK there are no out of the box wordpress plugins that format your site to be a proper mobile site with features like click to call buttons, mobile navigation, or neither validate properly to mobile standards

as someone stated already the majority of them simply format your content to be a list of blog posts which may work for some business owners, but certainly not for what i want my clients to use

Additionally with regards to SEO and Google i wrote a huge post about SEO and mobile, in most cases you are simply wasting your time trying optimize your site and you are much better off putting your efforts in to getting your main site ranking and optimized. Unless your site validates correctly it won't be recognized as being a mobile site by Google - having a .m subdomain or .mobi domain has nothing to do it with... simply put if your site doesn't validate to XHTML or a few other standards, it will simply lump your site in the SERPS with regular desktop sites...

I have spent hours and hours researching this - and as mentioned previously i posted a long long post on this here on WF, i will try and find the link to the post to clarify in more detail about mobile seo

But of course you don't have to take my word for it! lol

Pinky Painter · 16th Sep 2011, 09:59 PM

Originally Posted by Val.S.

Most of my customers use Wordpress for their websites.

My question is: Why would they need a separate mobile website when there are plugins available made to detect and present Wordpress sites in a mobile format?

Do the sites display nicely on most mobile phones when a WP plugin is used, or would the person be better to have a separate mobile version of their website? (I know mobile websites contain less text and smaller images, etc., but are there any other benefits to having a mobile site over a WP site that renders for mobiles via a plugin?)

I do concern on this as well. The screen of smartphones/tablets are different from each other. Would the mobile CMS able to detect the users' mobile and change the page to fit the screen?

WillR · 16th Sep 2011, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by Jay Moreno

I have spent hours and hours researching this - and as mentioned previously i posted a long long post on this here on WF, i will try and find the link to the post to clarify in more detail about mobile seo

I believe Jay is talking about his post here:

http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ml#post4451351

Nail Yener · 16th Sep 2011, 11:36 PM

Val, I have the same question as well and I don't think there is a specific answer to that. It all depends on the type of the website and its purpose. If a WordPress business site serves its purpose on mobile devices when a mobile plugin is used, then the website doesn't need an extra mobile site for sure. I think it will be best to inform your client about this, show them that their website is built with WordPress and there are some mobile plugins that do this and that but also let them know that it will lack some of the features of a custom coded mobile site etc.

I wouldn't sell a mobile website to a WordPress site owner without letting them know about the mobile plugins. This will probably cut out some sales but honesty comes first for me.

WillR · 17th Sep 2011, 12:37 AM

Most of the Wordpress plugins I have come across for mobile sites are more tailored towards a Wordpress site that uses blog posts - not a local business who simply use Wordpress as a CMS for their main website. Those sort of sites don't suit most of the mobile plugins because they use a set number of pages instead of posts.

Neil B · 17th Sep 2011, 01:40 AM

Just to clarify, I was talking about non wordpress, dedicated mobile sites in my previous post in relation to mobile SEO and Domain names etc...

Neil B

KingMedia · 4th Nov 2011, 11:21 AM

A plugin for WP will just copy your WP sites content and "make it fit" and leave out a lot of stuff as well thus making it look cheap.

Ideally you want a separate premium mobile theme located on a subdomain (m.website.com). A code will be placed in the main site that detects a mobile browser (iphone, etc), thus redirecting that visitor to your mobile site.

Companies want a custom look with their logo, colors, and social media buttons - not a cheap looking version created via a plugin, makes sense yes?

Now, the problem I do have is finding mobile themes! There donsn't seem to be any premium styles out there nor a software that will let you create one. If I am wrong, please point me and the rest of the readers of this thread in the right direction.

(Personally I am itching to find premium mobile themes for my clients.)

LukePeerFly · 4th Nov 2011, 11:42 AM

Personally, I think it makes more sense if you are using WordPress to just install a plugin (WPTouch is AWESOME) that'll automatically format your blog/site for mobile traffic. Install and you're all set. It uses all the same content from your blog and looks good on most mobile devices.

Example of my affiliate manager blog:

ASUService · 4th Nov 2011, 11:51 AM

IMHO WP plugins for mobile are just too bloated. I'll be honest I gave up on them almost a year ago so I might be behind the curve. I also did a lengthy post on this in another thread ... I'll see if I can find it.

Brian Alaway · 4th Nov 2011, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by KingMedia

Now, the problem I do have is finding mobile themes! There donsn't seem to be any premium styles out there nor a software that will let you create one. If I am wrong, please point me and the rest of the readers of this thread in the right direction.

(Personally I am itching to find premium mobile themes for my clients.)

I have Will's wso but if you want WordPress software and themes, check out Jason Fladien's Special | wpmobilepro.com

tdbasha · 4th Nov 2011, 03:51 PM

I've used WP Touch many times.
Most smaller businesses do not know they could do better.
Of course, I generally "give" them the mobile site as a freebie when I do any site work for them. I have never had any owner tell me they wanted a better site; pushing 127 active now.

However: I have sold 29 upselss, a few months after initiating a relationship, to a 'premium' design with the subdomain route. And they pay monthly fees for that service too.

I would like better themes too. Actively searching these days to increase the tool box.

16th Sep 2011, 10:01 AM	#1
I.M.Retired Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2005 Posts: 664 Thanks: 840 Thanked 331 Times in 208 Posts	A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: Most of my customers use Wordpress for their websites. My question is: Why would they need a separate mobile website when there are plugins available made to detect and present Wordpress sites in a mobile format? Do the sites display nicely on most mobile phones when a WP plugin is used, or would the person be better to have a separate mobile version of their website? (I know mobile websites contain less text and smaller images, etc., but are there any other benefits to having a mobile site over a WP site that renders for mobiles via a plugin?)
	Last edited on 16th Sep 2011 at 10:02 AM. Reason: Hard to type with cat sitting on keyboard!

16th Sep 2011, 10:54 AM	#4
Neil B Mobile Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2011 Location: UK Posts: 190 Thanks: 616 Thanked 205 Times in 134 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: Hi Val Well I guess it all depends on how much value a client see's in having a seperate mobile version of their site and being able to rank in the Google mobile search engine. If you're not using a dedicated .mobi URL then I recommend using either mobile.yoursite.com or m.yoursite.com sub-domains as these are known to Google for presenting mobile content...here's a links to a google video which may help, it also covers the 'issue' of duplicate content when running a seperate mobile version of a site. Cheers Neil B
	INFUSE Mobile+Facebook+Youtube+Twitter NOW! It's LIVE 'MOBILE NICHES RICHES''

16th Sep 2011, 11:05 AM	#5
KCNL Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2010 Posts: 83 Thanks: 23 Thanked 29 Times in 24 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: Hi, I use some mobile plugins on my wp sites but the point is you don`t have much control over the mobile site. It just copies the blog content.. So thats a very good reason to sell them a mobile site, and ofcourse the seo benefits..

16th Sep 2011, 11:13 AM	#6
jrod014 jcmarketingsolutions.com War Room Member Join Date: 2006 Location: Los Angeles , USA. Posts: 1,061 Thanks: 79 Thanked 379 Times in 109 Posts Blog Entries: 1	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: There are some coll themes/plugins for mobile websites out there. I know obox mobile (non aff link) WordPress (WP) Mobile Friendly Themes & Plugin allows you to build child themes on the framework. So if you are comfortable with editing and creating themes then you can do so with obox. Basically, if you can edit any wp theme in the code and css then you can create how you want obox to displat the mobile version of the WP site. Plus it cas some cool features like orientation adjustments and swipe. Hope that helps. Jerry

16th Sep 2011, 01:58 PM	#8
Jay Moreno Mobile+WP = JumpMobi.com War Room Member Join Date: 2009 Location: San Antonio, Tx Posts: 1,271 Thanks: 301 Thanked 449 Times in 309 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: AFIK there are no out of the box wordpress plugins that format your site to be a proper mobile site with features like click to call buttons, mobile navigation, or neither validate properly to mobile standards as someone stated already the majority of them simply format your content to be a list of blog posts which may work for some business owners, but certainly not for what i want my clients to use Additionally with regards to SEO and Google i wrote a huge post about SEO and mobile, in most cases you are simply wasting your time trying optimize your site and you are much better off putting your efforts in to getting your main site ranking and optimized. Unless your site validates correctly it won't be recognized as being a mobile site by Google - having a .m subdomain or .mobi domain has nothing to do it with... simply put if your site doesn't validate to XHTML or a few other standards, it will simply lump your site in the SERPS with regular desktop sites... I have spent hours and hours researching this - and as mentioned previously i posted a long long post on this here on WF, i will try and find the link to the post to clarify in more detail about mobile seo But of course you don't have to take my word for it! lol

16th Sep 2011, 11:36 PM	#11
Nail Yener You reap what you sow. War Room Member Join Date: 2008 Location: Sometimes you don't. Posts: 1,078 Thanks: 196 Thanked 411 Times in 243 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: Val, I have the same question as well and I don't think there is a specific answer to that. It all depends on the type of the website and its purpose. If a WordPress business site serves its purpose on mobile devices when a mobile plugin is used, then the website doesn't need an extra mobile site for sure. I think it will be best to inform your client about this, show them that their website is built with WordPress and there are some mobile plugins that do this and that but also let them know that it will lack some of the features of a custom coded mobile site etc. I wouldn't sell a mobile website to a WordPress site owner without letting them know about the mobile plugins. This will probably cut out some sales but honesty comes first for me.

17th Sep 2011, 12:37 AM	#12
WillR Digital Marketer War Room Member Join Date: 2010 Location: Australia Posts: 12,472 Thanks: 1,984 Thanked 8,187 Times in 4,079 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: Most of the Wordpress plugins I have come across for mobile sites are more tailored towards a Wordpress site that uses blog posts - not a local business who simply use Wordpress as a CMS for their main website. Those sort of sites don't suit most of the mobile plugins because they use a set number of pages instead of posts.
	. ➨ Here's How to Make Your First $177 Online This Week Using the Piggyback Method... .

17th Sep 2011, 01:40 AM	#13
Neil B Mobile Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2011 Location: UK Posts: 190 Thanks: 616 Thanked 205 Times in 134 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: Just to clarify, I was talking about non wordpress, dedicated mobile sites in my previous post in relation to mobile SEO and Domain names etc... Neil B
	INFUSE Mobile+Facebook+Youtube+Twitter NOW! It's LIVE 'MOBILE NICHES RICHES''

4th Nov 2011, 11:21 AM	#14
KingMedia HyperActive Warrior Join Date: 2009 Posts: 168 Thanks: 33 Thanked 21 Times in 20 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: A plugin for WP will just copy your WP sites content and "make it fit" and leave out a lot of stuff as well thus making it look cheap. Ideally you want a separate premium mobile theme located on a subdomain (m.website.com). A code will be placed in the main site that detects a mobile browser (iphone, etc), thus redirecting that visitor to your mobile site. Companies want a custom look with their logo, colors, and social media buttons - not a cheap looking version created via a plugin, makes sense yes? Now, the problem I do have is finding mobile themes! There donsn't seem to be any premium styles out there nor a software that will let you create one. If I am wrong, please point me and the rest of the readers of this thread in the right direction. (Personally I am itching to find premium mobile themes for my clients.)

4th Nov 2011, 11:42 AM	#15
LukePeerFly Director of Marketing War Room Member Join Date: 2011 Location: PeerFly Office Posts: 1,238 Thanks: 343 Thanked 523 Times in 340 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: Personally, I think it makes more sense if you are using WordPress to just install a plugin (WPTouch is AWESOME) that'll automatically format your blog/site for mobile traffic. Install and you're all set. It uses all the same content from your blog and looks good on most mobile devices. Example of my affiliate manager blog:
	[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] ^ My Blog Are you an affiliate that runs PPV advertising? You need my PPV target scraper! Have a Facebook Page? FPTraffic, manages over 1,000,000,000 (BILLION) Likes! Check it out :)

4th Nov 2011, 11:51 AM	#16
ASUService Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2002 Location: USA. Posts: 612 Thanks: 440 Thanked 125 Times in 101 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: IMHO WP plugins for mobile are just too bloated. I'll be honest I gave up on them almost a year ago so I might be behind the curve. I also did a lengthy post on this in another thread ... I'll see if I can find it.
	Best Regards, Mike Allton ASU Service, Inc. The LAST SMS Platform You'll Ever Need! Easy Money!

4th Nov 2011, 03:51 PM	#18
tdbasha Warrior Member Join Date: 2011 Location: Arkansas Posts: 29 Thanks: 2 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	Re: A Question About Wordpress Plugins for Mobile Sites Share on: I've used WP Touch many times. Most smaller businesses do not know they could do better. Of course, I generally "give" them the mobile site as a freebie when I do any site work for them. I have never had any owner tell me they wanted a better site; pushing 127 active now. However: I have sold 29 upselss, a few months after initiating a relationship, to a 'premium' design with the subdomain route. And they pay monthly fees for that service too. I would like better themes too. Actively searching these days to increase the tool box.