Thanks to Alex King for a great WordPress Mobile Edition plugin. The plugin detects mobile browsers and changes the output to a phone-friendly version. I wish I could take the plugin and add it to other sites that I frequent. Since I only control this site, I’ll take the lead and provide a mobile version for my readers.
If you are wondering what the benefit is of adding such a plugin, consider this. I often read RSS feeds through Google Reader. The mobile version of the reader often “translates” your page into a mobile-friendly format, but if I want to follow another link, the translation stops. It can eat up time and battery life when you have to wait for graphics to download. By providing a mobile version of your site, you make browsing your site from a mobile phone more convenient. I know I use all the mobile versions of sites I can find. It would be preferable, however, if the sites autodetect my mobile browser and feed accordingly.
Another benefit is that the home page of the mobile version only feeds the headlines of your posts. This saves time by not loading all the content on your homepage, but it also helps you track which stories are most popular when visitors follow the link to an individual post.
UPDATE:
Tonight was plugin party night. Thanks to LifeHack, I got a hold of some great WordPress plugins.
