In fact, web design is not an issue of mere aesthetics it implies much more than just an appealing outlook. It is a complex and multifaceted concept that plays a significant role in building efficient user-friendly platforms. What is more, employing user-friendly features to the website is a must for every company that bents its steps toward success. But is it enough? Not at all. While planning a powerful online presence, it’s crucial to focus on numerous factors simultaneously. Even if your website is excellent, users will have no way of knowing about your existence without good SEO optimization.
There is a direct link between your ranking position and the number of customers you may appeal to. Great SEO allows you to rank higher on search results, making it easier for potential customers to find you across the enormous number of digital platforms. That’s the point. SEO and web design work together more seamlessly than many might think. Bridge the gap between SEO and web design and make them go hand in hand. As a result, you’ll manage to enhance your performance and highlight your online presence. How to perform it?
Here is a list of 5 ways web design and SEO go together that may help you better understand the subject:
1. Mobile-friendliness
Google stated mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor in 2015. Mobile internet usage rates are gradually becoming much higher than that of desktop and now more than half of all web traffic is coming from mobile devices. You can’t simply ignore this fact, as, without a mobile-friendly website design, you might accidentally lose half of your users. It’s a great deal. That’s why it’s important to make your website accessible to various types of devices.
It’s better to adhere to a responsive design approach. The fundamental point of this type of design is that it automatically adjusts to the format used by the customers, regardless of what device they use – be it a smartphone, a tablet, or a laptop.
Employing mobile-friendly design, you’ll gain better rankings as well as a new audience. It will improve the overall performance, as your customers will easily access the website and feel free to use it everywhere without constraints.
2. Design
The first thing that catches the user’s eye is website design. Poor design urges visitors to leave the website immediately and try another one with a more pleasant look. This increases the bound rate and consequently reduces the SEO rating. Also, your web design needs to be comprehensible and easy to read. Try to avoid tiny fonts and pale colors that blend in a strange mixture. Use the proper color palette and implement one style for all pages to create a coherent picture.
A good design allows customers to experience your website without any troubles. That way, it will appeal to a considerable number of visitors and it’s more likely that they will be converted. Appropriate website design brings you to the top search ranks.
3. Navigation
Easy-to-use navigation reduces the chances that your visitors will get confused and leave. A straightforward layout allows customers to fully experience the website without any obstacles and perplexions and find the information they need in a short time. Thus they stay on the website for a long time. That is why designing the website to be as understandable and convenient as possible is crucial.
Try to avoid complex layouts, sort out the data employing content blocs. This increases the site’s usability and makes it easier for users to get to the point without any barriers. Also, it’s useful to include a sitemap. It can help new visitors to get around.
A well-put website architecture allows search engine crawlers to organize your content accurately and indicate all principle points of the site’s structure. Therefore, the search engine will have a clearer understanding of what your website is and rank it more efficiently. All this contributes to a higher position on the ranking and increases the website’s visibility in search results.
4. Content
The content of the website is a core segment of your performance. It should be informative, readable, and relevant to appeal to the customers. Also, to make the content SEO optimized is a great way to bring the website better rankings. How to do this?
First of all, include keywords in all content: texts, descriptions, titles, file and directory names. Don’t employ the same keywords package for all pages, make sure that the metadata is unique for each page. It doesn’t allow your content to merge into one amalgam, thus helping search engine crawlers to distinguish it better.
This concerns images as well. The optimization of all on-site images increases the website’s load speed, which is also a ranking factor. Another useful point is adding optimized alt tags to each image. Such descriptions help search engines determine what is being depicted and put images into context. Use clear and descriptive file names instead of conventional “IMG_253.jpg”. Also, it’s better to avoid stock images as the content should be unique and authentic to be ranked high.
In addition to keywords optimization, don’t forget to update the content regularly. Continually changing and updating content is an indication that your website is relevant and alive. It contributes to the dynamic performance and search engines crawling more frequently.
One more point is to adjust social integration to your content, including distributing functionality by allowing users to share your content on their social pages. This will increase your social visibility and enforce online presence. More shares, more likely to rank higher.
5. Domain name
Since domains have a considerable impact on SEO, picking up a domain name that corresponds to your business is the right decision. The domain name should be coherent and include core keywords.
It is what frames your overall web design contribution to SEO. Keywords domain includes might be quite helpful for search engine crawlers to estimate your content within the confines of one theme. That way, you have better chances to win the ranking.
Implementing these points you may improve your performance and establish a good position within the rankings. Proper and elaborated planning of web design can save your time in the future run for high SEO ranks. Remember, doing well out of the gate is easier than fixing numerous mistakes.