One of the biggest trends making waves in the coming year is the increase in the number of people who will use their smartphones, tablet computers, and other mobile devices to access the Internet. According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, 35% of American adults own a smartphone and 44% of them use their phones to access the Internet. One recent study reported that half of local searches are conducted via smartphones. Tablet computers and ereaders are also seeing a spike in sales.
It is thus essential these days to make sure that your business’ website can be comfortably viewed and navigated in a mobile environment. If you have yet to make the jump, here are ten tools that can help you get there:
1. MobiReady– Enter your website’s url and get a report on how your page will come up on a mobile phone including a bunch of tips on how to fix any problems.
2. Google GoMo– Google recently started an initiative to make websites mobile friendly. Its GoMo site lets you test the functionality of your website on a mobile device. The GoMoMeter, as it is called, will show you a preview of how your site will look when accessed by a mobile device.
3. Gomez Cross-Device Performance Test– Register yourself and submit the url of the site you would like to test, and you will receive an email of the results of the test which reveal how your website is rendered across multiple mobile platforms.
4. iPad Peek– As the name implies, with this service you can type in your website url and the simulator shows the test result in a life size iPad.
5. MobilePress– With this free plugin for WordPress, your blog will be automatically condensed into a mobile version.
6. Zinadoo– This mobile website development tool offers a professional editor interface including widgets such as guestbooks, email, click to call, RSS feeds, and feedback forms.
7. mobiSiteGalore– This mobile website builder offers ready-made template designs, an easy-to-use graphical interface and optional widgets.
8. Wirenode– This site offers a WYSIWYG mobile site editor with multiple customizable templates and several ready-made widgets. Users also have access to website statistics.
9. WP Touch– Turn your WordPress blog into an iPhone application-style theme.
10. WP Mobile Detector– This WordPress plugin detects if a visitor is using a standard mobile phone or a smart phone and loads a compatible WordPress mobile theme for each.