How to use Wordpress on the go through mobile devices

03 February 2012

I remember, a few years ago, reading a post by a prominent blogger and SEO expert about “mobile blogging”. He had a “blogging box” which allowed him to blog wherever he was (which I thought was a bit stupid and pretentious). It included a digital camera, a laptop with a 3G modem, a notepad and pen, and various other bits and pieces. The whole lot just about fit in a suitcase.

Thankfully, things have moved on a little bit, and we now have WordPress apps for iPhone/iPad and Android. Both apps are now in around version 2.0, and compatible with more or less recent versions of WordPress. That being said, make sure you check which version of WordPress you need to be running in order to access your dashboard via mobile.

Blogging vs Microblogging

Obviously, your main limitation when using a mobile phone for blogging is the fact that everything is just a little bit more of a pain. You can’t type as fast, upload as many pictures, format as well, or do a few advanced things. You can do just about anything you need, but it’s a little bit more cumbersome.

That being said, the way forward is clearly microblogging. By microblogging I don’t mean a twitter-esque update. I just mean a bare-bones post, with a picture and some commentary that you thought of while you were away from your laptop and a wi-fi connection.

What this enables you to do, amongst other things, is live-blog events and things that happen. If you spot something exciting, you can take a photo or a video of it and put it on your blog before you even get home. If you’re in the business of breaking news, this can be invaluable.

Obviously, if you have an iPad 3G, that’s basically the same as having your laptop with you, so you don’t need to worry about keeping it short and sweet.

How to Use WordPress on a Mobile Device

There are actually a number of different WordPress applications, but I recommend WordPress for iOS if you’re using an iPhone/iPad, or the WordPress Mobile Pack if you’re running Android. Setting either up is fairly self-explanatory, but here are a few things you will want to do first:

1. Download the app and read the documentation! The reason you do this is to see which version of WordPress your app is compatible with.
2. Make sure you’re running the right version of WordPress on your blog. Not doing so will result in errors if you have the most updated version of WordPress, as most mobile WordPress apps are a few versions behind.
3. Once you’ve installed the app, log in to your WordPress back-end and allow it to push to your phone. This will let you do things like approve comments quickly, and post without having to go through the login every time.