How to Mobilize Your Blog: Plugin Vs Web Platform

As everyone knows these days, it is extremely important to have a mobile friendly website. Large amounts of online traffic are migrating to mobile platforms, and you do not want to be left behind. Knowing that you need to go mobile, the biggest decision is how to do it – with a plugin or with a web platform. Each have their advantages and disadvantages, so read on for a few more details on each, to help you decide how to take your blog on the go.

Mobile Plugins
Mobile plugins are generally offered through your web host, or, you can seek out a third party. It essentially offers you the opportunity to install a plugin on your website that automatically converts it to a more mobile-friendly format when someone navigates to your site on a mobile device. Plugins are extremely easy to use, and do not require any kind of knowledge of computer code and programming. Plugins save you time and money, as there are many free downloadable plugins floating around on the Internet. And, of course, you do not need to spend the time to redesign your website. Once the plugin is installed, any mobile visitor is automatically sent to a reformatted page.

Of course, when using a plugin you lose the control available for those who custom design their mobile sites. Depending on what your blog offers, that might not be a problem – if you have a rather basic design that just needs a slight reformatting for mobile, it might not be worth your time to do a custom redesign of your whole website. But, for others, you might want more control over the final look of your mobile edition. And those are the people who will want to use a web platform to design their mobile sites.

Web Platform
Web platform offers a lot of advantages not available to those using a plugin. The obvious one, of course, is customization. This means that you have the ability to customize each and every aspect of your mobile site, whereas a plugin will just apply your web content to a standard template. This customization will allow you to ensure that the mobile version of your site is the best possible format for your viewers and customers, and allows you to ensure that your look, style, and brand identity carry over fluidly from your main site.

The drawbacks to custom design are the time and expense involved. If you do not know how to do it yourself, you will need to hire a professional, and even if you can, it will take quite a bit of time. Plugs and web platform both have their benefits and drawbacks, so spend some time considering your needs and resources before determining a path! Check out TradeStable mobile to get an inspiration. Good luck!

Author - Mary Johnson. Mary is a freelance writer specializing in tech-related articles. With a background in journalism, she has been in collaboration with many blogs across the Web. Currently Mary is working for TradeStable.com.ng. Follow on Twitter @MaryJohnson083