Website and search engine optimization are crucial parts of a successful online business or local company providing services to customers. There’s a lot at play which affect the website’s ability to rank well for SEO, and web design is a major element of various factors to be considered. The actual web development and layout affects how search engines like Google award user-friendly websites, and determines the amount of time users spend on a website.
Read on as we explain how a website design can affect rank in a search engine, as well as the importance of how quickly the website loads.
The Impact of Design On SEO
While content and aesthetics matter, it is also important to prioritize web design and SEO best practices, as it can affect SEO in several ways. A good design boosts the website’s ranking and helps with more sales. The site should be easy to use, allowing prospective customers to engage longer with sales copy on web pages.
Can web design affect SEO? Yes, good web designs can keep both the human and the search engine crawlers on the site, which is good for search ranking. Some people forget that high-quality content and good formatting for mobile users can offer good conversions. Professional web designers must balance the needs of the crawlers and the actual visitors, which makes it a lot easier to index the site and boost SEO rankings.
How to Design an SEO-Friendly Site
The following on page SEO strategy should be implemented on a well-designed website.
Limit Flash and JavaScript
Some programming languages are difficult to read. While it is interesting to use design elements, it is best to limit their use. Avoid putting critical content inside a Flash or JavaScript on the site since search engines will fail to see this content.
Design Clean Navigation
The website must be simple and come with a straightforward website navigation structure to provide users with a better experience. Avoid using technical jargon in the main menu, instead, use familiar terms. The search engine should encounter fewer barriers to prevent decreases in search rankings.
Prioritize the Readability
Web designs need to be easy to read to encourage users to stick around. Avoid using tiny fonts, small image files, and pale colors that don’t blend in the background. If unsure about certain design elements, consult experts and ask people to test the website.
Use a Responsive Design
Web designers must use an easily accessible and responsive design with a hamburger menu to improve the user experience. This technique will save time and money since only one design is needed for both the desktop computer and mobile devices. Moreover, search engine rankings tend to reward mobile-friendly and responsive sites.
Try Non-Invasive Pop-Up
Pop-ups can sometimes be troublesome for search engines. Even if the information is perfectly written, there is a tendency that an annoying pop-up can lead to an increased bounce rate. The best approach is a user friendly, “gentle” advertisement that won’t chase folks away.
Focus on Content and Images
A visually appealing website should focus on the content, image size, and layouts. Using relevant and interesting images properly throughout the site helps with branding, but can also be indexed and rank in SERPS as well. Be sure to link content to other pages on the site and use descriptive anchor text (based on proper keyword research) for internal links. Always use relevant keywords in the meta-description that is shown in the search results.
Speed Things Up
Many businesses require that their websites load quickly. If there is a broken link, or an image fails to load, it will cause a slight delay in the loading speed and decrease the conversion rate. The web page must load quickly to keep users and attract more visitors to the site, which in turn boosts the load speed and search engine results pages.
The SEO Experts
To ensure that your website has a direct impact on Google and other search engines, get help from the experts. At Direct Allied, we make sure to give you the best web design. Drop a message on our contact page for more details.
