How To View Websites in Non-Mobile Mode on Your Mobile iDevice

Are you tired of viewing websites in mobile? It seems that, the moment you visit a site on a mobile device such as your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you’re greeted with a mobile site. Usually, the URL includes the word “mobile” to let you know this is the case.

Mobile may seem acceptable to some, but it comes with its own annoyances. After all, mobile pages seem to be too narrow in how much of the page you get to see. You want a more PC viewing experience (non-mobile mode) so that you can read the words of the page without distraction. The problems with viewing webpages in their full form is often the case with small mobile gadgets, such as an iPod Touch or iPhone – considering that their screens are smaller than, say, an 8-inch or 10-inch tablet. Webpages are optimized for 10-inch tablets, and my iPad 3 screen always displays pages in clean and organized fashion.

You may not have this fortune, however, so here are two solutions to help you view websites in non-mobile mode on your mobile iDevice.

Solution #1: Chrome OS. Yes, I know, it’s Google’s mobile OS that competes with Safari, but it’s the best (and most free) OS around that can be yours with a simple download from the App Store. Type in “Chrome” in the search box at the App Store, and you can find Chrome from the list. Download it, and within a minute or less, you’ll have Chrome on your iPad desktop.

After downloading Chrome, you’ll need to go into the OS and set up your pages in the desktop version. To do so, perform the following steps:

Step #1: To view your website in non-mobile mode, Tap on the Chrome icon on your desktop to open it. Type in a URL of a site that you like to read on a regular basis. It can be any site, but you have to have a site URL appear in the URL box before you can activate desktop mode.

Step #2: You should see a little three bar symbol at the top right of the web page that has three bars. Tap on the three-bar symbol, and you should see a ton of choices present themselves in a drop-down window: new tab, new incognito tab, bookmarks, other devices, history, and so on. At the bottom of the drop-down window should be the setting “request desktop site.” This will allow you to view your webpage in normal (non-mobile mode), so go ahead and select it.

Once you’ve selected it, the page may need a few seconds to reload, but it should appear with your new webpage-viewing experience in non-mobile mode.

Mobile mode

non-mobile mode

I’ve done a before and after webpage examination here, so you can see the difference in your viewing experience between the mobile and non-mobile modes. In my example of viewing the tech site called “The Verge,” I discovered that the desktop layout eliminates the Apple advertising and pushes everything up so that you can get more out of scrolling down the webpage. The non-mobile mode provides less advertising and more of the articles you love to read.

Solution #2: Download an app that will help you view mobile pages in non-mobile mode. If you like to curate and collect articles, the app titled Pocket will help you do this. Just save an article to Pocket, then go into it and read the article as is. If you want to use the Web View (or mobile mode), click on the three-dot symbol to the right of the top of each article and select “web view.” Otherwise, the articles themselves come in a non-mobile mode so that you can read them faster.

Do you have any questions about viewing websites in non-mobile mode? Write in and let us know. As your source for all things iPad, it’s our joy to be of service.