Did you know that it is really easy to create a mobile web browser friendly version of your Wordpress blog?

This is what my blog looks like on the iPhone before and after installing the WPTouch Plugin

I found two options – the WPTouch mobile Wordpress theme and the Wapple Architect. As an iPhone user, I had noticed quite a few blogs that I visit regularly on my mobile device had very nice mobile version. I used to think that it would be quite a pain to create a separate mobile friendly version of my blog.

To my surprise, with the above plugins, creating a mobile friendly site is really quite simple. Just 5 minutes of work really. All you have to do is install the Wordpress plugin and make a few simple customizations with the plugin control panel. And you’re done!

I particularly liked the WP Touch plugin because it is a lot easier to install (Wapple Architect requires you to create an API key and register on their site) and has very simple and effective customization options. For example, you can customize the title of the mobile version (I created a shorter version to fit on the screen), create your own custom icons for navigation and for the more advanced, you could create push notifications as well as custom CSS!

I also like the fact that my Disqus comment plugin which I really like is compatible and so are the TweetMeme and Facebook Sharecount buttons. Other smart options built into the mobile theme is the option to add Google Analytics as well as Google Adsense so that you do not lose advertising page views from mobile visitors.

The WPTouch control panel has a section to let you know which other web based plugins are compatible and which are not. Smart feature.

The plugin has a slider button on the footer of the page that allows your visitors to decide if they prefer the mobile version or switch back to the full web version.

With more and more people beginning to surf the web with mobile devices, I do think that this simple plugin is worth installing to give your mobile web visitors a better experience visiting your site. If you have a mobile browser, I guess you’re already looking at the mobile version. If you reading this on your web browser but have an iPhone or other mobile device, load my blog on your mobile at http://brianwong.com/blog and let me know what you think.

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Tags: blog, iphone, Ipod Touch, Wordpress, wordpress plugins, wptouch