Nginx Mobile Theme
This plugin allows you to switch theme according to the User Agent on the Nginx reverse proxy.
Consider an alternative
Nginx Mobile Theme shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 200+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 8 years ago, and scores 33/100 on our health check.
- Momentum — downloads up 15.8% vs the previous 30 days
- Small user base (200+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 7 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.9 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & supportDaily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Nginx Mobile Theme stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| mobile | >100 |
| nginx | >100 |
| smartphone | >100 |
| tablet | >100 |
| theme | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
About Nginx Mobile Theme
From the official readme · v1.8.2Description
This plugin allows you to switch theme according to the User Agent on the Nginx reverse proxy.
Nginx Mobile Theme’s requirements are as follows.
- PHP 5.3 or later
- WordPress 3.7 or later
- Nginx Cache Controller 2.0.0 or later
Some Features
- You can flush mobile’s and pc’s each caches automatically via Nginx Cache Controller.
- Allow you to switch theme according to the user-agent.
- Allow you to customize multiple mobile device support via filter-hook.
Nginx Configuration
Add mobile device detection to the nginx.conf.
set $mobile '';
if ($http_user_agent ~* '(iPhone|iPod|incognito|webmate|Android|dream|CUPCAKE|froyo|BlackBerry|webOS|s8000|bada|IEMobile|Googlebot\-Mobile|AdsBot\-Google)') {
set $mobile "@smartphone";
}
Set proxy_cache_key.
proxy_cache_key "$mobile$scheme://$host$request_uri";
Send custom request header to the backend.
proxy_set_header X-UA-Detect $mobile;
Nginx Mobile Theme will switch theme when ‘@smartphone’ is received in the $_SERVER['HTTP_X_UA_DETECT'].
How to use
- Please access to the theme-customizer in the WordPress admin area.
- Please select Mobile Theme in the drop-down.
- Click “Save & Publish” button to save.
Multiple mobile device support
- Add custom mobile detection to the nginx.conf.
- Add custom mobile detection to the WordPress via
nginxmobile_mobile_detectsfilter-hook.
nginx.conf:
set $mobile ”;
if ($http_user_agent ~* ‘(iPhone|iPod)’) {
set $mobile “@smartphone”;
}
if ($http_user_agent ~* ‘iPad’) {
set $mobile “@tablet”;
}
In your custom plugin:
add_filter(‘nginxmobile_mobile_detects’, function(){
return array(‘@smartphone’, ‘@tablet’);
});
- As a result, allow you to select theme for @smartphone and @tablet individually in the theme-customizer.
Amimoto Support
The Amimoto is a full-tuned WordPress AMI on the AWS EC2.
- Uncomment /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf in line 17
before:
#include /etc/nginx/mobile-detect;
after:
include /etc/nginx/mobile-detect;
- Add line to /etc/nginx/nginx.conf like following.
before:
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header Accept-Encoding “”;
after:
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header Accept-Encoding “”;
proxy_set_header X-UA-Detect $mobile; # add new line
-
Define constant in the wp-config.php
define(‘IS_AMIMOTO’, true);
Installation
- Upload
nginx-mobile-themeto the/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
Changelog
1.8.1
- Add query strings mobile=on and mobile=off
1.5.0
1.4.0
1.3.0
1.2.0
1.1.0
- Add support child theme.
- Add notice when Nginx Cache Controller is not activated.
https://github.com/megumiteam/nginx-mobile-theme/compare/1.0.0…1.1.0
For developers
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Best Nginx Mobile Theme alternatives
All mobile plugins →FAQ
Nginx Mobile Theme: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 3, 2026
Is Nginx Mobile Theme free?
Yes. Nginx Mobile Theme is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Nginx Mobile Theme safe to use in 2026?
Nginx Mobile Theme shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 200+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 8 years ago, and scores 33/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Nginx Mobile Theme?
Nginx Mobile Theme is active on 200+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 243,428 times since it launched in November 2013. It was downloaded 3,265 times in the last 30 days.
Does Nginx Mobile Theme work with WordPress 7.1?
Nginx Mobile Theme is officially tested up to WordPress 4.9.33, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Nginx Mobile Theme last updated?
The latest version, 1.8.2, was released on October 17, 2018 (8 years ago).
Who makes Nginx Mobile Theme?
Nginx Mobile Theme is developed and maintained by Takayuki Miyauchi.
What are the best alternatives to Nginx Mobile Theme?
The most popular alternatives to Nginx Mobile Theme are AMP (400K+ installs), AMP for WP (70K+ installs) and WP Mobile Menu (70K+ installs).
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