Today we released an update to our Responsive Page Tester for WordPress. Sadly, this update will be the last that we make to this plugin.
When we initially launched the plugin on March 5, 2013, we were trying to create a way to preview a site in multiple orientations right within WordPress. It worked great, and was a plugin that we installed on every client’s website to aid them in creating great content on screens of all sizes.
But, with time comes innovation! The WordPress Theme Customizer API has gained a lot of steam since we released this plugin, and has become a very powerful tool, so much so that it is now required in all themes hosted on the WordPress.org Theme Repository.
As of version 4.5, WordPress core now has the ability to preview your site in different orientations and screen sizes from right inside the customizer.
Photo credit: make.wordpress.org (https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/01/28/previewing-site-responsiveness-in-the-customizer/)
Updating the Responsive Page Tester to the latest version will ensure that it will deactivate itself automatically when sites are updated to WordPress 4.5 (which is scheduled for release on April 12, 2016). If your current theme supports the Customizer, you will notice the controls at the bottom, just like in the demo above.
In just over 3 years, the plugin was downloaded over 8,500 times. At the time of this posting, there are 1,000+ installs of WordPress that have the plugin active. If you were one of those downloads, we hope that this plugin has helped you on your digital journey to a more responsive website!
Top photo courtesy of Don LaVange (https://www.flickr.com/photos/wickenden/4068696971/)