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Finding the best WordPress theme for basic phones has been as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack, but I eventually found it, and I am sharing the details in this article.
I have read somewhere that there are over 30,000 WordPress themes available for you to pick for when building a website. But if you are targeting traffic from people who use feature phones and entry-level smartphones, you are mostly out of luck. Most of these WordPress themes are choked full of JavaScript and extra functionality that make them overbloated and unsuitable for the most basic cell phone broswers.
My search for the best WordPress theme for basic phones was long, but it is now over.
Why is anyone recommending a theme with parallax effects, moveable headers, grid styles, as the best WordPress theme for basic phones? What would these basic phones do with parallax effect or with those grids? Where would they get the required processing power and supported browser capabilities from?
- My long, tedious search
- The ideal WordPress theme for basic phones
- WPtouch is the best WordPress theme for basic phones
- Free Download
My long, tedious search
I have tried out theme after theme, from Astra to GeneratePress, to Neve, and more. All of them are unsuitable for creating a website meant to load on low resource mobile devices. During my search, I would run into article after article listing the best 30 (or 10) WordPress themes but not one of them addressed the need for a theme for basic phones.
As a matter of fact, eventually I realised that when an article has a title that says it lists multiple WordPress themes, it was likely no good for my search. What I was looking for was very specific, and if you are reading this article, it is likely what you are looking for, too.
I needed a theme that would strip off all the bloat and present lightweight pages that would load easily on the tiny screens of basic phones.
The ideal WordPress theme for basic phones
The ideal theme for basic phones will be one with no JavaScript, no complex or complicated, advanced features that put a strain on the low-end processors that basic phones use. I did hunt for such themes and found only one or two old discarded projects. The developers have up on them and moved on.
WPtouch is the best WordPress theme for basic phones
WPtouch is not a theme per se. You do not upload it as a theme. It is a plugin that activates a basic mobile-friendly interface for your WordPress blog. It strips off all the junk that is loaded with the theme that your blog is using, and gives it a more lightweight, faster theme that works extremely well for the most basic phones.
One of the great things about it is that it leaves your website’s desktop theme intact and continues to display that for non-mobile visitors. The mobile-friendly version displayed for mobile visitors works excellently on basic phones. And because the plugin removes junk from loading on mobile devices, what you end up with is a website with a small footprint and that passes Google Mobile test. This is exactly why I am convinced that it is the best WordPress theme for basic phones.
After downloading the plugin, upload it as a plugin (not as a theme) and activate it. After activating it, find it in your WordPress dashboard and click on Settings . This will open a page that lets you set it up, select a basic phone friendly theme, and customise it to your taste.
The best WordPress theme for basic phones has a small footprint and serves optimised content.
WPtouch makes your WordPress website load faster on mobile Web browsers, including: iOS (iPod, iPhone), Android Stock & Chrome Browsers, Firefox OS & Mobile Browser, BlackBerry Browser, Windows Phone (IE), Opera Browser (Opera on Android/iOS, Opera Mini on iOS, Coast), among others.
The basic WPtouch plugin is free, but there is a paid Pro version that provides you with more themes, extensions, extra features, and support. The Pro version is available for $45 only. If you do not need the Pro features, just use the free WPtouch plugin like that.
Having put it to use extensively, I heartily declare that WPtouch provides the best WordPress theme for basic phones. I have tested it on entry-level Android smartphones and feature phones, and it performs admirably.
WPtouch is not necessarily for everyone or every website. I do not use it on all my websites. If your target audience are mostly Apple iPhone users, for example, you really might have no need to install this plugin, as they have adequate processing power and Web Browser to handle the average bloated WordPress-based themes that you probably already use. Of course, using WPtouch can still translate to a better browsing experience for even iPhone users.
But you will get the best results when you want a website that will load fast and work smoothly on more basic mobile devices.
Free Download
Download the WPtouch plugin for free by clicking on this link .
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
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You might have run into the phrase, “Fluorite AG Glass” in the news announcements or specs sheets of a few phones. It is an innovative type of glass used in smartphones. What exactly is it and what does it do?
- What is Fluorite AG Glass?
- How it works
- Phones with Fluorite AG Glass
- Other color-changing smartphones
What is Fluorite AG Glass?
Fluorite AG Glass is a type of glass used in smartphones. It is different from Gorilla Glass and other tempered glasses used to protect glass parts of a phone, in that it is not tempered glass and its purpose is not protection from scratches or cracks.
Instead, what Fluorite AG Glass does is that it has the ability to change color when it is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, including sunlight.
As such, you likely heard this material mentioned with a smartphone that is able to change color – usually the color of the back cover. Simply put, this special glass adds a unique aesthetic appeal to phones it is used in.
How it works
A material coated with Fluorite AG Glass changes color when exposed to ultraviolet light or UV light. Before you get scared, UV light is a component of sunlight and it is considered safe with moderate exposure. As a matter of fact, exposure to UV light is essential to the production of vitamin D by your body. The sun emits more than just visible light and heat; it also emits a range of electromagnetic waves, and UV light is one of them. Note that UV light is not visible to the human eye.
The summary is that when you expose a smartphone with Fluorite AG Glass to sunlight, you are exposing it to UV light as well, and the part of the phone made with this material changes color. If you remove it from sunlight, its color will change back.
Phones with Fluorite AG Glass
Fluorite AG Glass is a relatively new development in the world of smartphones and it isn’t widely used yet. As at last count, only Vivo made phones that have this material, which should be no surprise considering that it is the result of Vivo’s research and development work. I imagine that if other smartphone brands want to make use of it, they will have to license it from Vivo.
The first smartphone to use this material is the Vivo V23 series, which includes the V23 and the V23 Pro. Some other phones that have it are:
- vivo V25
- vivo V25 Pro
- vivo Y27s
- vivo V29 5G
- vivo V30
- vivo V30 Lite 4G
Other color-changing smartphones
While vivo developed and uses Fluorite AG Glass, other smartphone brands are not left out of the color-changing design game. A brand like OPPO also has color-changing back design phones that include OPPO Reno5 Pro+ Artist Limited Edition and OPPO A96.
TECNO Camon 19 Pro Mondrian, TECNO SPARK 10 Pro-Magic Magenta edition, and TECNO Camon 20 Premier Doodle Edition ( see it in action ) are three other smartphones that have color-changing backs. They use a different method of manipulating color, though.
Products from vivo, OPPO, and TECNO are not officially on sale in the United States. Some models are available in European Union countries, though, so if you are located in the EU, you might be able to get your hands on these smartphones with color-changing back designs.
Samsung has had a brief stint with color-changing design, in the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Aura Glow, seen above. That is a dated smartphone now and Samsung hasn’t followed up with that experiment. Pretty much, if you want a color-changing smartphone in the United States and Canada, you are out of luck, till further notice.
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
