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by Scott Frangos

Recent research shows that just Apple’s iphone, alone, accounts for 1.8% of the US browser market. Small potatoes? For the moment… but internet browsing with mobile phones is growing — Goldman Sachs predicted in 2007 that 14 million iPhones will be sold in 2008. That could be low — newer predictions see 10 million sold by September of this year, well before the Chrismas rush. Research also shows that more mobile phone users are browsing the internet each month, that they watch videos (like those on uTube), and that those viewers tend to be more affluent (see M:Metrics report). So is your website ready for the Mobile tide coming your way?

What if you don’t want your site to be directed through a mobile browser like Mowser?

Here’s one more interesting tidbit — some WordPress and Apple watchers are predicting that Apple could be moving to build WordPress into the iPhone. Hmmmmm. Blogging goes mobile with lots of power and options. I like it.

Time to Mowser your Website?

One interesting approach to serving the needs of mobile users is a new Browser — Mowser — that reformats your site into a small-screen, user friendly version.

Here’s how WebHelperMagazine.com looks through the lens of Mowser:

That does make this website readable by most mobile devices, but a lot of the important formatting, the banner header, and impact of large images (especially screenshots for tutorials) are lost. And how would you make a smooth integration? Well, if you use WordPress, you can get the “Mowser WordPress Mobile Plugin.” The plugin detects mobile browsers and redirects them through the Mowser interface for automatic repurposing to mobile. The site at that link also gives directions on a customizing a CSS file for the plugin.

Controlling Mobile Browsing On Your Own Server…

What if you don’t want your site to be directed through a browser like Mowser? Sure the browser is nice, but you’re relying on their methods to make it happen. You can take more control on a WordPress CMS site with a plugin like the WP Mobile Edition 2.1, by Alex King. Mr. King makes a number of very helpful plugins for WordPress BlogMasters and deserves your support (yes… tip him via PayPal). This plugin generates a “PDA friendly interface for your blog.” Note that installation is a two-part process, there’s a plugin file that goes in your Plugin directory, and also a file that goes in your Themes directory.

With Alex’s plugin, there is no admin. interface yet, though he is requesting CSS advice and submissions at his site, since newer phones are supporting CSS. Some of us may want more admin. options in the future, but it’s nice to just plug in the program and forget about it. Note that it will do its best to detect mobile browsers, but may not discover all of them out there. How does it work? We’re using it here at WebHelperMagazine.com, so point your mobile phone here and take a look.

What do you think is the best way to go for now? There are a couple of other mobile plugins for WordPress out there, and a variety of solutions for “old-school” websites not yet upgraded to Content Management Systems (CMS). Other CMS programs provide plugins for mobile users as well. Leave a comment on your experiences here, and we’ll discuss how best to serve this growing user base. Oh… and did you notice that mobile device users like to see video at sites they browse? That’s another trend to jump on, and there are plenty of video plugins for WordPress, which I’ll cover in a forthcoming post.