With so many of your site’s eventual users on smartphones and tablets, you need to have a mobile responsive theme for your WordPress site. In this article, we’ll show you can use the Jetpack mobile theme in order to add mobile responsive layouts to your current WordPress theme.
Why is a mobile theme so important?
It is widely considered a best practice to have a mobile responsive layout for your site. Not only does this provide a more satisfying user experience, but it is also considered more favorable for search engine optimization.
Jetpack’s Free Mobile Theme
The free version of the Jetpack plugin provides a mobile theme you can enable right away. It’s possible your theme already has a mobile layout. If not, the free theme is a great start.
How to Check if Your Site is Responsive
Google has an easy-to-use mobile-friendly site checker. All you need to do is paste your URL in the field and run the test.
You may also be able to judge by eye: look at your site on a smartphone or tablet. You should be able to tell by the look of the page if your site is optimized for mobile devices.
- Is the type too small?
- Are the images not formatted properly for the screen?
- Is it difficult to click on links?
All of the above may mean that your theme is not ready for mobile devices. It’s possible you have an older theme or a custom theme that has not been updated for a long time.
In either case, you should consider enabling the Jetpack mobile theme right away. Follow along below to find out how to do that.
How to Enable the Jetpack Mobile Theme
In order to access the mobile theme and install it on your site, you will need to enable it.
- Log into your WordPress Dashboard
- Click Writing under Jetpack > Settings
- Click to “Enable the Jetpack Mobile theme”
Now, you should be able to visit your site with a mobile device and see the look has changed.
