Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions


What is a mobile blog?
What is Twi-Mobile?
Where are the mobile friendly blogs listed?
What if my favourite blog/website isn't on your list?
How do I read fanfiction more easily from my mobile?
for bloggers
I have a blog/website but don't have a mobile. Does this still apply to me?
I want to mobilize my site - what are my options? Costs?
- for blogger blogs
- for self-hosted wordpress blogs
- for wordpress.com blogs

What is a mobile blog?

If you try and read the regular version of a blog from your cell phone/Blackberry or mobile device like an ipod touch or possibly Kindle you'll notice that it's harder to navigate properly.

Regular version - hard to read

It may take forever to load and then you end up wiggling all over the screen. Or if you are using a text-only mode there is a whole bunch of extra crap when all you want to see is the latest post.

Enter the Mobile Blog - you take the regular desktop blog and just get the posts and make them into a compact easy to read version for your mobile phone or device.

Mobile version - easier on the eyes

What is Twi-Mobile?

As a frustrated iPhone user I started compiling all the mobile friendly Twilight blogs and websites into one place. I also helped to convert quite a few blogs to become mobile friendly. Thus Twi-Mobile was born.

Where can I find the mobile friendly blogs?

From my desktop Twi-Mobile site see right sidebar.
From your mobile see http://twimobile.prohost.mobi/

What if my favourite blog or website isn't on your list?

Let them know it's something you'd like to see them do and link them to this page or have them email me at twimobile(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll help them get set up.


How do I read fanfiction more easily from my mobile?


See my post "How to Read Fanfic on your Mobile." It tells you about online fanfiction.net and reading downloaded (offline) fanfiction.net and offline twilighted.net. Makes it so much easier to travel and read without an internet connection.

For bloggers

I have a blogger/website but I don't have a mobile. Does this still apply to me?


Yes, as a blogger it's in your interest to keep your followers happy right? Well, about 20% of your readers access your blog from either their cell phone or some other mobile device. This will make it easier for them to follow you while they're away from their desktops. Your posts are updated instantly as the mobile blog just gets content from your blog's RSS/Atom feed.

How do I set up a mobile version of my blog/website? What are the options? What does it cost?


For blogger blogs
Sadly there is no built in mobile site and no widget to easily add things either. Options are:

Easy, pretty, low cost $3/month - Mofuse was a company that offered free mobile sites to blogs as well as pay professional mobile sites. They shut down their free division in June. But they have discounted their starter package to just $3/month (price of one Starbucks coffee). Go to mofusepremium.com and if you sign up with discount code three it should give you that rate. The Mofuse mobile site builder is easy to use and also gives you the ability to automatically redirect mobile traffic to the mobile site. You can also monetize/advertise as well. This is what most of the Twi-Mobile members are using like myself.
Take a look at Malicious Mandy's Mind blog at http://maliciousmandy.prohost.mobi/

Free, very pretty, flexible content, need to know CSS/HTML - If you absolutely want to do this the free route then try your hand at mobify.me. It is a mobile site builder that is very flexible and gives you a lot of content control. The catch? To make it really pretty you need to have a basic handle on CSS/HTML. It is really meant for web designers.
Take a look at Twilightish at http://twilightish.mobify.me/ to see what you get.

Free, basic generic, easy to use - Google Reader
Now this ain't too pretty but it gets the job done.
All you do is add your post RSS feed URL into the text below. Then make a text link under your header or on your sidebar saying 'Mobile Version'


http://www.google.com/reader/m/view/feed/your RSS post feed URL

For example mine would be http://www.google.com/reader/m/view/feed/http://twi-mobile.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Click that link to see what you get. It ain't to pretty but it's easy to see from any mobile device.

For those on Wordpress.com blogs

I think most of you should know by now that you have a mobile version of your site already. When readers are on mobiles visiting your site they automatically get redirected to it.

For self-hosted blogs using Wordpress

Hopefully you'll have found a massive number of plugins available for you to choose from. 

For a pretty good review of the plugins available and the differences between them check out this article at W3 Magazine.

Any questions? Email TwilightCupcake at twimobile(at)gmail(dot)com