Mobile devices usually have a small screen, which makes viewing sites created for regular web browsers a little difficult. To overcome this problem many webmasters offer mobile friendly versions of their websites.
The WordPress.com team has announced that mobile friendly themes will be turned on by default for all WordPress.com blogs. Blogs will be displayed using 2 themes, based on the type of phone used for browsing.
The first theme is a modification of WPtouch and will be displayed to phones with modern web browsers like those on the iPhone and Android phones. The second theme was developed from an older version of the WordPress Mobile Edition and will be displayed to all other mobile devices.
If you have uploaded a custom image header, it will be scaled down to size and displayed on the top of the page. To disable the mobile friendly theme, you will need to visit Appearance -> Extras, and uncheck the relevant options.
WordPress.org users have several options to provide mobile friendly websites, by using plugins such as WPTouch, Carrington Mobile and Mobile Press.
What do you think about the new mobile friendly themes? Will it make your browsing experience better? Do you use mobile friendly themes on your WordPress.org blog?
I’ve recently become a big fan of these and I’ve been using MobilePress (customized theme to ‘match’ my site). It loads fast, it ‘fits’ handheld devices, and people reported, happily, that it was very welcome.
Not all sites need it, but it can make things easier to read on the road.
Definitely in favor of this move! I’ve used several different mobile plugins, eventually settling on WordPress Mobile Edition when they redesigned to use Carrington Mobile. Even on my Android phone (T-Mobile G1), which basically runs Chrome, bandwidth and screen size are still major factors that can interfere with viewing a web page designed for broadband speeds and desktop screens. The standard blogging practice of putting multiple articles on the front page makes it even more important.
My only concern would be an ability to switch back & fourth from the mobile device. A la places like Flickr, who default to a mobile theme, but then allow you to switch and set your default preference.