Zacman

Hey Warriors,

I've a wordpress site I've spend a ton customizing and I'm wanting to make it mobile friendly as well.

I've been looking at various wordpress mobile plugins and trying to decide which one to go with. So, thought I'd get some feedback from fellow warriors.

Of course I've checked out wordpress and read numerous reviews of plugin users, but frankly, they're all over the board from 5 stars to 1.

Seems you never know if it's just user error, or the plugin it's self, as almost any plugin has positive and negative reviews at wordpress.

I'd appreciate any comments as to what mobile plugins anyone else has used, and or even those to avoid.

I'm not opposed to a premium plugin at all, particularly if it has substantial advantages.

Thanks,
Zac

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AnniePot

From a lot of recent research, I've come to the conclusion that mobile sites created from a WordPress plugin are not a good idea because they create programming heavy sites that take extremely long to load. It seems you will be far better creating a separate mobile optimized web site, rather than one drawn from a current WordPress installation.

Zacman

Annie,

Thanks for the comments. Yeah, I've considered that. WP plugins and loading speed are an issue for sure. There are some that claim to be very "light", but then again, who's to say?

Wordpress in general can have loading issues to begin with, I'm going to be upgrading to VPS or dedicated for that reason.

As mobile becomes more and more of the traffic market, surely more solutions will become available.

Just trying to get all the info I can at this point.

Thanks again,
Zac

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sipero

You clearly have not seen the Jumpmobi Inspire Theme. Not only is feature rich but gives excellent load times for your mobile site.

DavidMeade

Hi Zacman,

definitely check out JumpMobi. Jay Moreno owns the product (Pretty sure it's Jay). Anyway it's a theme developed specifically for mobile websites and not a plugin. It ticks all the boxes in regards to speed/light programming etc.

Dave

Jarrod

EZ Mobile Site Generator is a premium wordpress plugin you can use to create a mobile version of your website right from within the wordpress admin panel. Very simple to use.

However, having it installed does indeed impact the overall speed and performance of both your main site and the mobile site, so I recommend using it to create the site, then extracting the site as html and uploading the html file to your site, then deleting the plugin from the admin panel.

Are you looking to create multiple sites (like being a mobile web designer and selling the service to local businesses) or just your one site?

Zacman

Just the one site, and like I said, it's extremely customized, so not sure a redirect type mobile plug will work.

Checking out both recommendations now.

I definitely don't want to build a completely new mobile site.

Thanks,
Zac

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Internetoholic

I am working with Wordpress for couple of years and I won't recommend to you any plugin. It will just slow down your site, make mess in database and sometimes won't work on all resolution.

Responsive theme is the only solution for now. If you already have theme and don't want to change it, you can hire someone who can make it responsive changing some CSS.

Find me here

cjseven

When I need to create a new website I go "responsive" with Artisteer software - generated code is not "perfect" but it is easy to correct it through CSS.

If I already have a website and need a Mobile version, I would use one of those tools mentioned before or I create a Wordpress Mobile Theme and use a "theme" redirect plugin.

Zacman

Just exactly how would you make it more responsive? I understand what you are saying, but you're being very vague.

Please expand....

Thanks,
Zac

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Jay Moreno

Are your referring to mobile plugins and themes or just plugins in general. If its mobile based addons have you tried and tested every single mobile theme/plugin out there? As what you said wouldn't hold true...

Yes, there are mobile themes and plugins for Wordpress that mean well but are not truly mobile optimized, but to suggest a responsive Wordpress theme would be quicker is nonsense if anything it would be just as slow or slower.

People have this misconception that Wordpress is slow - in fact its not slow out of the box. What makes it slow is the unnecessary bloated code that typically gets added due to the amount of plugins that you add to your site. It's the scripts that get loaded on pages that are not even using the plugin that slow the site down.

Even a theme switcher plugin doesn't disable plugins on a mobile theme unless it has been specifically designed to do so. So a mobile theme could still have the same issue of loading plugins even when they are not even used.

Even without the issue of bloated scripts. you then have the issue of image file sizes, as the images used in a desktop theme get dimensionally scaled down in a responsive environment, but a truly mobile optimized theme would actually reduce not just the physical size of the images but also the file size too for faster delivery and to suit the devices screen size.

So no not all plugins/themes are developed the same or with this same knowledge or understanding of the WordPress framework or mobile optimization.

There are very few WordPress themes/plugins out there that have been specifically designed properly and optimized for mobile, those that are certainly don't have any of the problems you mentioned in your sweeping statement.

Responsive is a simple solution for being mobile ready but is not the same as being mobile optimized, using an adaptive theme really is a much better solution to being truly mobile optimized as it takes the best of being responsive and being a standalone mobile optimized site and delivers the best overall mobile experience.

Another advantage similar to responsive is that you can quickly and easily sync your content, or deliver optimized content as you choose. This is however a drawback to standalone mobile optimized sites.

The issue with adaptive is that if you don't have a readily available resource it can be very complex to deploy.

However, check out the top 500 corporate website and you will find that very few are actually responsive and those that take mobile seriously have gone for an adaptive approach.

Google, Facebook, Ebay, Amazon all use an adaptive design that renders the most compatible layout for the browser viewing the site, delivering similar or optimized synced content specifically rendered for mobile to help provide a better mobile end user experience.

We can all agree to disagree what the best solution is but for me i would recommend you review the pro's and cons of responsive, adaptive, and standalone and then go with what best suits your requirements, especially if you are the one dealing with and maintaining your chosen solution.

Hope that helps,

Jay

AnniePot

Thanks for the comment, but I answered the OP's question about a plugin to create a mobile version of an already developed Wordpress website using a standard theme.

I considered pointing him to a WSO: http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...ml#post7136916, but it was off target to the original question posed by the OP, so I didn't do so.

Anne

Zacman

Annie,

Thanks, I'm checking that out.

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Jay Moreno

@Zacman - One thing to bare in mind too is the level of support you get for the solution you choose especially if its a premium product.

Also to add different solutions offer different ways of displaying your content for example some sync your existing content whereas others require you to add separate content.

These are all things to bare in mind when choosing the best solution for your needs.

WillR

Check out JumpMobi's theme. You won't find a Wordpress mobile theme that has more options than that.

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bagl8713

It's always better, in my opinion, to choose a theme that has a responsive design vs downloading a plugin that creates a mobile experience. That way you'll have more options as far as custom design and layout in the future. If you don't foresee the need to be customizing look and feel, check out WpTouch for wordpress. It's a solid mobile plugin that is light and loads your content much faster with a mobile friendly experience.

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WillR

A good mobile experience is NOT just about presenting the same information in a different way. A good mobile experience should also tailor the content and information to mobile users. In a lot of cases you should not be serving up the exact same content to desktop users and mobile suers.

That's why having a separate mobile website makes more sense.

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tim205

Has anyone used dudamobile or have any opinions on it:
Mobile Website Made Easy | Free Mobile Website Design | DudaMobile

globalpro

I use Jay's Jump Mobi theme and it's not a plugin, but a stand alone theme that can be used for a separate mobile site, or integrated into a WP install with a theme for desktop. That feature alone has been a game changer for me.

Besides it being feature rich, with all the bells and whistles, Jay has also made it to be fast loading and if you follow his tips on specific settings, it will achieve maximum validation.

I have set up a few sites with it and prospects have been very impressed. I know I am and it's what I setting myself apart from everyone else and why I charge more (best part).

Zacman

Just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions. I'm a bit indecisive to begin with, so having several excellent examples has made me even more likely to take a while to decide.

JFYI, the site in question is extremely content oriented using crowd sourcing, so it's not like I'm just needing a mobile plugin for a local business.

Anyway, thanks everyone.

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mloya

Thanks Jay.....that was a great post.

Reprise

Dunno is it actual now, but I can suggest you to check Epom's plugin.
Epom WordPress Plugin | Epom Help Center

Jay Moreno

How exactly do you think this will help the OP?

I wish there was a facepalm emoticon on here... lol

Zacman

My thoughts exactly. I've been checking post still making up my mind. Didn't get that post at all.

One thing I might add, is the site I'm wanting to mobilize, has tons of guest/member posters, so I just don't see making a separate mobile site.

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hybridservers

I tried local business theme. And it works really good. Also, it sees your screen resolution and it fits for mobile phones. I tried this one for one really simple website.

HybridServers.com

bizadpros

JumpMobi is a Wordpress theme that actually scores a 98% OR BETTER right out of the box.

Always check how fast any mobile website is loading and scoring here: W3C mobileOK Checker

Yes, most Wordpress Mobile Theme or plugins are not very fast compared to "templates", but JumpMobi blows them all away.

(JumpMobi does not have an affiliate program so I am not promoting or making any money of this thread) - BUT, just chiming in that Wordpress can be a great mobile website platform.

bizadpros

Well said WillR!

We are being flooded with "responsive" themes and all sorts of ways to go mobile. Separate mobile sites are the way to go...

Social Guy

It depends... Every client hase different needs... It is also what Willr says: "In a lot of cases..." That means: "Not in all cases"

I build mobile AND responsive websites, I try to create a website (online presence) that fits my clients needs. Sometimes it is responsive (I must read more about adaptive by the way) and sometimes it is mobile only..

Edit: The mobile builders I use (or used)
- Willr's Mobile business in a box
- Irene's EZ Mobile Site Generator
- Jay Moreno's JumpMobi

JumpMobi is what I use now, Willr's WSO was my starting point in the mobile business, than Irene's product made it easier for me to create with Wordpress and now Jay's product is the new kid on the the block that I prefer

run

Every now, I use responsive site and separate mobile theme. Yes, responsive is the way to go for currently trend, so if the visitors come from mobile browser, there is an alert to ask whether they want mobile or not. If they don't want to view the mobile version, they still get the desktop version that is responsive so that it gives more user experience. This method is good but with more work from the first.