This can be a HUGE pain and it took me a full day to convert. It meant choosing a new theme, redoing the header, tweaking the theme content, getting some of my verification codes (ie, Pinterest) back in place, creating new custom CSS to match the
look of my previous layout, and generally tearing my hair out.
However, it MUST be done and, fortunately, Edwin Boiten has just made it easier than ever with a plugin that will provide a mobile version of your WordPress site in seconds for ANY theme (see the info on my test case further down, btw, where were you a couple of weeks ago, Edwin?!) ;)
Watch the video Edwin created but, more importantly, listen to what he says about WHY you must convert your old sites to
mobile-friendly themes now. Google is making a change in April that can negatively impact your rankings unless you do something about your old, non-mobile-friendly sites now.
Google has been making it very clear that this is a priority this year. You may have seen messages in your Google Webmaster
Tools dashboard telling you to address "mobile usability issues" with your sites. They've been on a rampage with those notices lately. This plugin will solve the issue in seconds.
Even if you have plans to upgrade to a different theme in the future, this plugin will cover you for now and buy
you the time you need in order to later tackle a full blown overhaul of your site. Consider it cheap insurance.
What this plugin does is create a very simple, very fast, easy-to-navigate view of your site for mobile devices only. It does not change how your site appears on desktops
and laptops.
When someone arrives at your site using their smart phone or tablet, they'll see the mobile version. It will be much easier for them to view your entire content in a mobile-friendly screen view.
The site I spent a day overhauling a few weeks ago rose 3 spots in Google within a week and I haven't added content to the site in YEARS. Until then it had not budged in rankings and had been stuck in the same place waiting for me to get back to it.
Making the site easier and faster for mobile devices is the only explanation I have for why the site rankings suddenly improved right after I made that change. It's a sign, folks - Google is serious about us making our sites easier to use when browsing with mobile devices.
If you don't know if your site is responsive (mobile-friendly), first look for a notice from Google in your Google Webmaster Tools dashboard.
If you don't see that message, bring up your site on a mobile device and see if the layout is different than when the site is viewed on a
laptop or desktop. One clue is that the navigation menu should appear as a clickable 3 lines in the upper corner of the mobile device screen.
If your site is not responsive and you don't know how to make it so or don't have the time to do a complete overhaul, consider getting Edwin's new
plugin: