When web servers send you WAP pages then they're usually good. They look fine and work well. For basic stuff like sports scores and headline news this is ideal. So make it clear to the site server that you want their mobile service by entering their special URL for mobiles or by clicking their mobile link.
The problem is, less than one thousandth of the web is available this way. A lot more is available if you use other methods.
Excellent! For general browsing on modern web-enabled phones this should be your method of choice. Make sure you start your search from the dedicated mobile page of the search engine or directory. It usually has a different format to the regular computer-based page, and you may have to recognise this format because you might not be told that you've arrived there.
Usually you have no choice over this, so it's not worth getting into detail over pros and cons. The positive side is that the translations are usually good, and the negative side is that if the web site/engine/directory you're looking at has a mirror for mobiles then you're likely to be locked in there and won't get to see anything else. The limitations vary, but graphics such as maps will rarely reach your phone.
Older WAP mobiles often rely on network translation. Newer phones often use less network translation and more on-phone translation.You get more choice over whether you see original computer-based pages, or dedicated mobile pages. More of the original web is available to you, maybe even a map or two.
The downsides are that you have to take more care over whether (and how) you choose small mobile pages or larger computer-based pages. Large graphics and pages (+video) are likely to fail anyway. But hey, we're getting there. Now only a small percentage of the web is unavailable to you.