Luke Pensworth
In the past, web designers have prioritized the desktop side of things first before the mobile versions when working with website design projects. But today, mobile devices have become a core necessity in everyone’s daily lives. Because of this, the term “mobile-first” strategy was coined to describe the importance of designing or sketching the smallest screen first before larger screens when dealing with business websites and projects.
Because Google Mobile Ads team says that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a website if it isn’t optimized for mobile users, implementing the right elements into the formula can help your business grow.
But aside from having a good design, it has to also be compatible and responsive at the same time. It may not be impossible to achieve all the things that matter, but it’s going to be a challenge.
Knowing this problem, Google has come up with GoMo, a tool that evaluates your website and lets you see what customers see from their end on their mobile phones. It helps businesses create a mobile-friendly website as mentioned in their blog post.
But what exactly is GoMo? In this article, we’ll talk about that as well as cover it’s potential back in the days, as well as possible alternatives you can use today.
Why Mobile-first Is A Must Now?
Before we go down to the nitty-gritty of why mobile-first is so important today, let us first define what it is.
The term “mobile-first” is a type of approach that means designing your business website for the smallest screen devices like mobile phones first and work your way up to larger screens such as desktop computers.
And since there are over a billion people all over the world who use their mobile phones for purposes other than texting such as buying products online, emailing, social media, and services, it’s undeniably important for every business today to implement this kind of approach.
But doing so can be a daunting task unless you use the right tools that can help you get it done. This is why GoMo was very popular back in the days. Let’s cover more about what it is down below.
What is GoMo?
GoMo is an online tool that business owners can freely use when taking on the mobile world. This tool lets you see how your website looks like when customers head over to your website on their smartphones.
On top of that, it also features other tools you can use to learn from and take advantage of. In case you need someone who can help you set your website up for mobile customers, it’s also a place for you to find mobile site developers that you can rely on.
There’s nothing wrong if you want to do everything from scratch as the website also features a GoMoMeter tool. Essentially, it analyzes your website and returns with plenty of customized recommendations that can easily be downloaded for you to look through and evaluate.
With a tool like this, chances are it would be easier for you to come up with the most effective mobile version of your website for your customers to enjoy.
But What Happened to GoMo?
If GoMo has sparked your curiosity, it’s very likely that you’ve checked their website and bumped into a 404 error– what gives?
No, it’s not your internet that’s messed up. It’s their website.
Now, if GoMo is considered revolutionary, why was it discontinued?
The last time it was found active before it went unavailable was in 2012. Because of this, there were plenty of people who got disappointed and was left to find another one that offers the same services.
Fortunately, there are options you can choose from today, which we have discussed in detail in the Alternate Technologies like GoMo section below.
The Potential of GoMo
It’s unfortunate you can’t access HowtoGoMo.com today when it has the potential of successfully bringing your business in the mobile world.
To give you a general idea of what it can do to your business, here are 4 solid reasons why you should consider tools similar to GoMo, which we’ll cover in another section below.
Full comprehension of the importance of “mobile-first” for businesses
The website has plenty of useful resources such as infographics, stats, and data-driven conversations with the clients that you can use to understand and further your understanding of the subject as a whole.
Lets you see how your website looks like from your customer’s end
You must know how you look like from your customer’s end. And GoMo’s GoMometer feature packs more than just that.
It also gives you a customized report of what can be done to significantly improve your website’s overall efficiency. You can even download the entire report so you can go through each of these at your convenience.
See plenty of examples you can use to your advantage
If you need inspiration, GoMo’s 10 mobile sites best practices should ensure you’re guided accordingly from start to finish.
Find the right guys to help you build the most efficient mobile-friendly site
GoMo’s GoMo Agency Guide is also a place for you to find agencies who want to help people looking to start or upgrade their website. This means not only that you’ll learn everything you need, but you also have the option to start right away after you’ve picked the right people for your business.
To sum up, GoMo is a website that has everything you need to build a user-friendly, easy-to-navigate website when viewed on mobile phones.
Alternate Technologies like GoMo
It’s unfortunate that we’ve never heard from GoMo since 2012 and even from Google itself. But because of the high potential of GoMo, you’ll likely see alternative websites that perform similarly. And here are our picks:
1. Google Mobilizer
Similar to Google GoMo (Go Mobile), Google Mobilizer allows you to test your website on mobile browsers. What makes this different than the rest on the list is that it’s easy to trim and tweak UI to help you get the best mobile-friendly webpage.
2. W3C mobileOK Checker
This is our personal favorite. Similar to GoMo, this performs several tests to estimate the level of compatibility of your website with mobile web browsers.
3. iPhoney
It’s also important to consider how your website will look like on an iPhone mobile device. As such, we have iPhoney as our second top pick. This allows you to build your website in the actual Apple Safari type of environment, as well as the original iPhone’s zoom, plugin, portrait, landscape modes, and the list goes on.
4. iPad Peek
On top of having to consider iPhone browsers, iPads also contribute to any business’ potential income. And our favorite tool for this regard is iPad Peek.
5. Gomez
It’s great to be certain that everything’s right where it should be when building a website that’s compatible on a mobile device. And among other options out there that does that, Gomez is our personal pick. It offers you more than just a very reliable result but also advises you how you can further your improvement to your site.
With all these at your disposal, you’ll likely be able to build the most mobile version of your business’ website.
Conclusion
With mobile devices becoming more and more popular every day, businesses should start prioritizing the “mobile-first” strategy to get the best results.
