Getting your website to rank on the first page of Google seems to involve an ever-changing list of requirements from the world’s largest search engine.

In recent years, businesses have seen feast and famine come as a result of their standing on popular search engines –with the Google search engine leading the charge.

With what seems like an ever-growing laundry list of website design requirements, having a responsive design for your website is now topping the list.

And with good reason; as the world continues to move over to smaller website browsing devices –each with their own unique screen sizes, computing power, and battery capabilities — Google has placed much more importance on the experience of those mobile website visitors.

Responsive Design by the Numbers

The impact of Google’s responsive website design requirement will affect more than 40% of the popular search engine’s mobile traffic. That’s the largest pool of internet traffic affected by an update to Google’s algorithm to date!

Here are a handful of ways to help your existing Sydney responsive web design more attractive in Google’s eyes.

1. Website Redesign

This step isn’t for everyone, although if your website design is older than 4 years, this might be your most affordable and effective option.

There is a direct correlation between how advanced your website design is, and how easy it will be to upgrade it to a mobile-friendly responsive version.

Going back to change code may not be the most cost-effective answer, so consider getting a quote for both a mobile-friendly website upgrade, and a new design.

A new website design doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll need to start from scratch; new designs can be “skinned” over top of older CMS-based websites. You may look around for website design services in Sydney to see what your options are.

2. Use a Theme

If you use WordPress or any other scalable CMS platform which can allow for the use of third-party themes, making your website responsive can be as simple as swapping out a theme for a new one. Newer responsive themes for WordPress are typically in the neighbourhood of $60 USD and are well-worth the investment in terms of organic search traffic.

3. Use a Plugin

And to build atop our suggestion of using a new responsive WordPress (or like CMS) theme, third-party plugins which extend the design functionality of your corporate website are also available. These plugins can work alongside your website theme to help your online presence become more responsive. These plugins are even cheaper than a new theme, although in either case they often require a skilled hand to implement them.

4. Update Existing Multimedia Technologies

In addition to making your website mobile-friendly itself, it is also important to ensure that all third-party multimedia integrations are using mobile-friendly technologies.

Right off the top, that usually means eliminating heavy proprietary software, such as Flash Player, or out-of-date HTML code for handling rich media.

5. Web-Based Applications

Websites aren’t just websites anymore; many of them contain web-based software applications which help automate or run your business. Web-based applications are often more complex, albeit just important to turn over into fully-functional responsive layouts. Website forms, social media integrations, online ordering systems, and the like should all be responsive and mobile-friendly too.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day, if you’re going to go mobile, do it right. Ensure that your prospective web design company is skilled with HTML5, uses modern responsive or mobile internet technologies, and never shop on price alone. Going the extra mile today to ensure 100% mobile compliance can save a lot of headaches down the road.