11.18.09

Make your Blog iPhone-friendly in a Few Easy Steps

Posted by Tim Frick in Mobile, Web Design

This morning I ran across WPtouch from Brave New Code and admittedly was a bit dubious when the company claimed it could make my WordPress blog iPhone-friendly with just a few clicks. But lo and behold, that’s all it took and the result was super impressive. In just a couple minutes my entire blog was transformed into something that could be viewed on iPhones, iPod Touch, Android or Blackberry and actually looked good. Plus, WPtouch even supported most of my plug-ins, like ShareThis and Disqus.

The software requires WordPress 2.7 or above, which means you can install it without ever having to leave the WP Admin. Just follow these simple steps:

• Log into your WP Admin
• Go to Plug-In > Add New
• Search on WPtouch
• Find WPtouch iPhone Theme in the list
• Select Install in the right column

Once your plug-in is installed, all you have to do is activate it and then surf to the site with your favorite mobile browser. Users who would rather experience your site in its full-browser glory are presented with a simple ‘Mobile’ switch with which they can turn WPtouch’s mobile-friendly functions on or off.

Of course the plug-in has a slew of settings you can customize, but even with the default settings my blog looked great. The plug-in is free, but you can donate to the Brave New Coders’ beer fund right on the site. I was so impressed by the ease with which everything worked so seamlessly that I immediately got out my credit card and made a donation.

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