Official WordPress Plugin for the Add to Homescreen Javascript Plugin

photo credit: yum9me – cc

Add to Homescreen is an open source project, developed by Matteo Spinelli, that allows website owners to include the add to home screen call-out for mobile devices. The Javascript plugin is self-contained, dependency-free, and often recommended. Spinelli has just released an official WordPress plugin that will guide users through the complicated task of configuring the script.

Once the plugin is installed and configured, it will open an always-on-top message inviting mobile users to add the application to the home screen, a feature currently only available on iOS and Mobile Chrome browsers. Spinelli explains that “While other devices have the ability to bookmark any website to the home screen, only iOS and Mobile Chrome have a straightforward way to do it.”

The Add to Homescreen plugin includes both basic and advanced configuration options, debugging, and statistics for how often your site is added to users’ homescreens:

The plugin’s basic configuration page includes four presets for you to choose from:

Anonymous – Displays the message but never tracks the users

Display Once – Displays the callout only once and tracks when added

Always Show – Displays the callout once every 24 hours until the user has added the website to the homescreen

Silent – Never show the callout but track when users add the application to the homescreen

The built-in stats feature allows you to keep track of the number of views vs. added to the homescreen:

Stats are a nice option, but if you have conflicts with other plugins, it might serve you better to disable it. Spinelli advises that the Anonymous option is the only 100% fail-safe solution if you are having trouble.

The plugin also includes the ability to upload a custom application icon, so you can brand it to your website accordingly. Spinelli plans to continue developing the plugin and is currently working on adding Windows Phone support to a future release.

The Official Add to Homescreen plugin is considered official because it is developed by the same author of the popular Javascript widget. If you are already using this script or another plugin that uses it, your best option is to switch to the official plugin in order to stay up to date and receive the latest bug fixes.