Having a responsive website that works on desktop and mobile devices used to be a mere option, but these days it is downright necessary.

People may use your website at first, but they will flock to your competitors if they offer them the chance to use their website on mobile devices as well as a desktop computer. Here are the top ten plugins to make your website responsive.

1. Jetpack by WordPress

There are over 33 specific features to this plugin, which means it can do much more than just make your website responsive. You can use mobile themes to create your mobile-ready website, and you can tailor it to your own needs. If you know PHP and CSS, then you can alter your theme even further.

Integrating with your Google+ page is very easy, and there are verification tools by Photon so you can improve the speed your site loads.

• Make your website mobile friendly
• Speed up loading times
• Tailor your theme to suit the aim of your website

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2. MobilePress

This plugin will help make your website responsive through the use of responsive themes. Install customized themes with this plugin, and install mobile friendly settings too. It is a very simple plugin that works on the idea that a simple theme will be supported by a lot of future mobile devices. In essence, the idea works, and even the fact that the themes look a little simple does no harm because most Smartphone designs are very simple anyway. If there were a lag between detecting a mobile browser and displaying the right theme, then this plugin wouldn’t have a lag.

• Has themes that suit all major operating systems and web browsers
• Plugin shouldn’t need regular updates
• A simple way of making your website mobile friendly

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3. WPtouch Mobile Plugin

Replace your current theme with a mobile-only theme. Why alter your website to a mobile-only theme? It is a decision some people make to make the process of updating a little easier.

Your website will still work on a desktop computer, but it will look the same as it does on a mobile device. This is not ideal for a great many websites as many websites have more options and functions on the desktop website. However, there are some websites and brands that benefit from keeping it simple. These are websites where extra functions are not needed. If the website has a simple use, then a simple format and theme will suffice.

• Use a mobile only theme to keep things simple
• People may still switch between your regular version and the mobile version
• Make updating your content and your website a lot easier

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4. Any Mobile Theme Switcher

The name of the plugin is a little on the nose, but at least you know what it is all about when you look for it on a plugin directory. Set up the plugin and load your mobile themes. When a person looks at your website it detects the browser being used and sends the right theme to accommodate it. It also allows you to show different homepages for different mobile devices, which is handy if you are trying to sell to Apple or Blackberry users.

• Works with W3 Total Cache
• Mobile bookmarking with QR codes
• Show different home pages for different mobile browsers

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5. WP Mobile Detector Plugin

This plugin chooses which theme to use when people are accessing your website. This plugin does what most responsive-mobile apps do, it detects the device that is accessing your website and brings up a theme that suits their device. It features on this list because it is good at picking the right theme. It identifies the device being used by using more than just the web browser being used.

In other words, it doesn’t lump mobile and desktop devices into one big clump. It can detect over 5000 different mobile devices alone, which means it is possible to tailor your website and website theme to suit all of them individually. This is not something you should do, but it is very good for catching errors.

For example, you may find that a certain mobile device restricts access to your website or creates usability bugs. With this plugin, you could target that device alone and ensure the most compatible theme is used for that device.

Add further functions to impress your viewers such as collapsible menus, widgets, dynamic page loading, touch-optimized layouts and cross-platform compatibility.

• Detect over 5000 different mobile devices
• Send the right theme to the right device
• Add further functions that operate perfectly

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6. WordPress Mobile Pack 2.0+

This is a plugin that is a little different to the others because it gives you the tools to take the website you have now and adapt it to mobile browsers. You can simply add a new theme into the mix that is sent to the viewer depending on which mobile browser is being used, or you can alter your website with the tools to make it mobile friendly and/or responsive. It gives you quite a bit of control over how your website is viewed by mobile browsers.

• Supported on all mainstream browsers
• Allows you to do numerous things with your website
• Plenty of control over your own website

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7. Elegant Themes Handheld Mobile Plugin

This plugin has themes that are held in place until they are needed. Let’s say you have your desktop theme and you want to go mobile. You integrate this app with your current website and pick a mobile-friendly theme. Tweak the designs and layouts to how you would like them, and that is all you need to do.

You can use the plugin so that any content updates on your website are applied to your mobile website without altering the theme or layout of your mobile website. There are a lot of different themes you can use, which means that if you want, you can have a completely different theme and feel for mobile customers than what your desktop viewers get. Or, to avoid confusion, you can pick a mobile theme that is very similar in design and format to your desktop website.

• An easy alternate theme creator for your mobile device
• Let the plugin detect which theme to apply to which device
• There are 87 mobile themes to choose from

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8. Mobile Smart

This is a plugin that switches your website to a mobile theme if a mobile browser is looking at it. The user can still switch between mobile and desktop versions, and there are three options available for letting users switch, which are via a widget, template tag or footer option. It rescales all the elements on your page, which includes your images too.

• There is a manual switcher to allow viewers more control over what they see
• A sophisticated theme switcher that is packaged with a simple design
• There are template tags to help you

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9. WP Mobile Edition

This is another plugin that helps you turn your website into a mobile-only website. Once again, you can access the website on a desktop computer, but it will look the same way it does on a mobile device. And, once again, this sort of thing may be suitable for your website. If you do not need a lot of functions on your desktop website, then having it work the same way as your mobile website is a plausibly good idea.

If your mobile theme is currently a cut down version of the bigger desktop website (like the Facebook mobile website), then this plugin is not going to suit your website. If you do opt for a mobile-only website, then you make the process of changing your website a lot easier, and it becomes a little easier to have your website work on numerous platforms.

This plugin goes at the bottom of the list because even though it is a good plugin, it has a little misinformation on the WordPress plugin directory page. It claims that the weight of a mobile website is transferred over to a mobile device when using responsive design, and claims that using a mobile theme for both your desktop and mobile platform means less data is sent over to the mobile device. This is not true unless you have a very poor plugin or a terrible web designer. The way the claim is presented is also misleading, so this plugin goes at the bottom of the list for purposefully telling a little white lie.

• Simplify making changes to your website
• Have the same theme work for both mobile and desktop devices
• Allow users to switch back and forth through themes if you wish

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10. iThemes mobile

This is a website that offers a plugin. The plugin allows you to use the themes you create for your mobile templates. When the user visits your website, it allows you to show the viewer the mobile theme that you created.

• You can build your own themes
• Take more control over menus and navigation
• Supports a wide number of platforms

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