Advantages of a Mobile Responsive WP Theme

Dear all. After almost 12 months (2012 passed too fast!) of using the great Magazine Theme from the guys at Studiopress, Stream SEO is now moving into a new Mobile Responsive WP Theme.

And to make it better, I took some time to move into another simpler, yet elegant and beautiful design.

But Why?

Well, mobile devices are growing very fast in the industry. What you can do right now with your Smartphone, 5 years ago needed at least 3 different devices. Brands estimate that 2013 will be the first year people will buy more Tablets than Notebooks/Netbooks because of this increasing tendency.

I did my homework, and went to Google Analytics to read the statistics of my site, and this is what I found:

73% of my readers are using a Windows Based computer
12.5% of my readers are using a Mac (OS X)
4.3% of my readers are using a Linux Distribution
5% comes from iOS devices (iPod, iPad, iPhone)
4% comes from Android Devices (Tablets and Smartphones)
The last 1% or so comes from other mobile devices such as Blackberry , Windows Phone, etc.

That means 85% of my traffic still comes from Desktops or Notebooks, but there’s already a 15% coming solely from mobile devices, and I expect this trend to grow a lot more in 2013.

I can’t really imagine the estimated quantity of traffic coming from mobile devices at the end of 2013, but I bet it will be AT LEAST 30% of my total traffic. And that’s a quantity of readers I can’t ignore by using a non-responsive design.

This idea had been surrounding my mind since I introduced Squarespace to my readers. The thing is that their templates are so elegant and simple at the same time, and all of them are mobile responsive. I was really stunned with their design, but I still prefer using WordPress at Stream SEO.

So I thought: Why not using a similar theme at Stream SEO and make it mobile responsive in the process?

And here it is. You’re looking to the new “Minimum” Studiopress Theme, which boasts a very simple and elegant design, which allows my readers to focus on content more than anything else, no matter what device you’re using at the moment.

Advantages of a new Mobile Responsive WP Theme

Of course the main advantage is that readers now can enjoy a better experience when visiting Stream SEO from their Phones/Tablets, but there’s more:

No matter what resolution you’re using in your computer, the website will look great. From a 15″ 800 x 600 monitor to a super 27″ monitor boasting a 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution, the new design will fit great on all of them and it also allows you to use more space if possible.
Banners, widgets and the rest of the stuff that was barely visible on my old design are now moved to the end of a post when being read in a mobile device
I don’t need yet another WordPress Plugin to add Mobile Functionality, and I don’t need to pay a developer to create an App for it. Talking about Apps, I’ll create a simple Android App (and possibly an iOS app) so you can access my website directly from an icon on your device. I’ll create a guide and publish all the details later.
Content is easier to read because I’ve upgraded the typography and spacing again. No need to use the zoom anymore!
New readers landing the first time via mobile device will have better engagement

There are other minor advantages of having a mobile responsive WP Theme, but this resumes what I was looking for.

OK, so how do I move inside Stream SEO now?

Well, the structure is very similar, but I’ve moved some menus here and there, so here’s a quick guide on how to move on my new design:

Homepage: You can go back to it by clicking on the Home link at the upper right corner or by clicking “Stream SEO” on every page
Pages: The upper menu allows you to select any page. You can contact me for guest posting or anything else, and read the About Me page.
Categories: The categories menu no longer exists on the top of the website. I added it at the bottom of every post so that you can focus on reading my content and then look for more at the end.
Social Media: You can follow/pin/tweet/circle me at the homepage or at the footer of any page/post by clicking those orange circles.
RSS Feed: At the top of every post (just before the content), there’s a “Subscribe Now” botton that allows you to get my Feed (syndicated by Feedburner).
Sidebar: The sidebar remains the same as before. you can also subscribe to my feed on the Sidebar’s Widget or at the end of any article. You’ll also see my best affiliates and the most popular posts of the month.
Footer: Here you can read a little about me, read recent posts and Pages. Also, an small square will appear at the end of every post to show you related posts.
Comments: Commentluv is now enabled for any reader that wants to write down an insightful comment related to the article. It allows you to use your name and also select a recent post from your blog and leave a backlink to your site for more engagement. Don’t abuse it! I’ll be watching for SPAMERS. Also, a widget on the sidebar will highlight the best commenters of the month and it will give you a backlink from all of my pages. So, don’t be afraid to comment at all!

Feedback is always welcomed

I hope you enjoy my new mobile responsive WP Theme here at SEO, and don’t forget to leave your feedback if you find any error while browsing it. I’ll try to fix it ASAP, but please let me know the browser you’re using to make it easier for me.

Go and grab your new Smartphone/Tablet and visit Stream SEO NOW!