Wordpress Mobile Theme for Creating Stylish Mobile Websites

I love my smart phone (I use Blackberry), but recently I’ve contemplated buying a magnifying glass so I can read website content on the phone. I’m tired of zooming in to read a blog post or a home page.

However, I’m less concerned with my user experience visiting websites on my Blackberry than I am about my prospective and current clients reading my business websites.

I’ve come to realize that more and more people are surfing the web on their phones. This means that for my business, I needed to put my mind to “mobilizing” my business websites for a better mobile device web experience on my business websites.

If you own a smart phone, do yourself a favor right now and check out your website on your phone. Is it easy to read? Easy to navigate? Unless you’ve mobilized your website, I bet you’ll find it terribly difficult to read.

Fortunately, there’s a solution. The solution is creating a mobile-friendly version of your website. This article tells you about the solution I’m using on all of my WordPress business websites. There are solutions for non-WordPress websites, but I’m not up-to-date about those because all of my sites use WordPress.

About a month ago I started researching and seeking out a WordPress mobile theme for creating stylish mobile websites. I tried a variety of plugins that didn’t work well for me.

Then a short while ago, ElegantThemes, one of my favorite WordPress theme developers, released Handheld, which is not a WordPress mobile theme, but instead a WordPress mobile plugin.

Yoga Baron is now mobilized!

Check out Yoga Baron (www.yogabaron.com) on your mobile device. I’ve “mobilized” Yoga Baron with the Handheld plugin so you can see Handheld in action as well as enjoy a better reading experience on your mobile device.

WordPress Mobile Theme vs. WordPress Mobile Plugin

The more I thought about it, using a WordPress mobile theme was not the right solution for me. In fact, I don’t believe it’s the right solution for any business website. Why? Because it may affect your website’s traditional view on PCs and laptops.

A WordPress mobile plugin, on the other hand, retains your site’s appearance on regular computers while creating a mobile-friendly version for the major mobile operating systems (iPhone, Android, and Blackberry).

Actually, I believe most WordPress website publishers searching for a WordPress mobile theme are really looking for a plugin for the precise reason just stated.

About the Handheld WordPress Mobile Plugin

Traditionally, ElegantThemes developers WordPress themes and not plugins. However, when they set out to create a product to create mobile WordPress websites, they opted for creating a plugin, which was smart.

Handheld features-at-a-glance

1. Works on any WordPress theme

You don’t have to use a theme by ElegantThemes to use Handheld. This site uses the Genesis Framework by StudioPress, yet Handheld works tremendously well for creating a mobile version of Yoga Baron (and all my business websites).

2. Easy installation

The Handheld plugin installs just like regular plugins in the Add New plugin panel.

3. Switch to normal view

At the bottom of your mobile site, there’s a button for visitors to click that switches your mobile version to the normal version of your website. This is a must-have feature for any mobile site for those visitors who prefer to view your normal website.

4. Customize the home page

You can choose which page displays as your home page.

5. Blog integration

What WordPress mobile theme or plugin would be complete without the option to include your blog and latest posts. Handheld displays your blog posts as well.

6. Easy-to-navigate

The mobile website created by Handheld is simple but looks good. There’s a clear drop-down menu option on the home page.

7. Upload your logo

You easily upload your business logo which is the front-and-center display. In fact, I tweaked my business logos by adding a tagline and telephone number so visitors could contact me quickly from the first screen.

8. Integrates with WordPress’ custom menus

This is a very cool feature. You can create a custom menu for your mobile website and then in the custom menu panel select the menu you wish to display on your mobile website. This is handy if you use 2 menus on your website (i.e. a secondary navigation bar) and wish to have all your key pages display on the mobile version of your WordPress website.

See the following custom menus panel for choosing a custom menu for yoru mobile website:

9. Display a page or recent posts on the home page

You can choose a page or choose to display recent blog posts on your mobile Website home page. For Yoga Baron, I chose to display recent posts. However, for my business websites I display a page.

10. 3 to 10 minute set up

I set up my mobile version websites in less than 5 minutes. It’s very easy to do. The following is a screenshot of the Handheld configuration panel:

Handheld FAQ

How long does it take to create a mobile-friendly website with Handheld?

It took me about 3 minutes for my first site. Since then I’ve mobilized 3 of my business websites.

1. How much does Handheld mobile plugin cost?

$39. But, you also get access to 60 plus WordPress themes. ElegantThemes has one purchase option (I love the simplicity). You pay $39 for 1 year access to all of their themes AND the Handheld plugin. Frankly, $39 is worth the price for Handheld alone.

2. Is there support?

Yes. ElegantThemes offers full forum support. They have dedicated forums for each theme and a separate forum for Handheld. I posted 1 question which was answered within 3 hours.

3. What about your website’s sidebar?

Your sidebar does not display in the mobile version of your site. Something has to go in order to enlarge the text.

4. On which mobile operating systems does Handheld operate?

Blackberry, iPhone, and Android (the big 3).

5. What about iPad?

You can choose to display your mobile version for iPad or display the normal version of your site. It’s up to you.

Do I recommend Handheld plugin as a WordPress mobile theme?

Absolutely. I bought it (actually I’m a long-time ElegantThemes member and just renewed my membership). I’ve toyed with free WordPress mobile plugins and never liked any of the options. Handheld by ElegantThemes is worth it if you want a mobile-friendly website.

Click here to learn more about Handheld plugin.