Mobile or Not?
There are a number of great plug-ins and themes for WordPress that allow you to server minimal content to users visiting on mobile devices (iPhone, Blackberry, Palm etc) but there is some debate as to whether you should use these plugins or not.
Why show full content?
According to Apple’s developer information when the iPhone and iPod touch first came out, they recommend you not present custom content layouts for their devices. Why? Because they designed the mobile Safari to be present just about any web page the way it was supposed to be in it’s original form. Their theory is that users want to see the full content in all it’s glory on their mobile device, and with 3G and WiFi speeds improving, there was no reason to “dumb down” the content.
Another reason not to present “dumbed down” content depends a bit on your content. Most of the mobile plug-ins I’ve seen and tested don’t show any of your advertising. This means users seeing your mobile content aren’t getting to see any of your ads, and if that advertising is part of your monetization, you’ll be missing out. That said, I’m sure there are ways of incorporating advertising into your mobile versions.
Why have a mobile version?
There are a few reasons to use specific mobile versions at times. For example, if you’re not concerned about advertising revenue, then presenting a mobile version can help the readers of your blog by downloading somewhat faster for them.
Another reason may be if your content is mobile focused and your readers want to quickly read your articles on their devices. Mobile compatibility can be a selling point for attracting readers. They’ll know that they can count on seeing articles with minimal use of their bandwidth, no formatting issues, easy readability and consistent display.
So what do you do?
Ultimately the choice is up to you. With more people surfing the web using their mobile devices, there may be a compelling reason to present using a mobile theme. However, as those same users are surfing on mobile connections, they are increasingly using more complex devices like the Palm Pre or iPhone, which are fully capable of displaying sites in all their intended glory.
The choice is ultimately up to you and your readers. Check your analytics and site stats to see what your readers are using to browse your site. Perhaps even poll your users to see if they want a mobile version and follow their wishes. Most of the mobile versions out there include a link that lets the user flip back to the full version with a single click. Unfortunately they don’t remember that choice for subsequent visits.
Categories: Wordpress