The success of your business depends on several different factors, one of them being SEO. The SEO world may be confusing to some website owners, and finding the best way to run your business online can be a challenge. That’s why many of them underestimate the power of factors that determine the performance of SEO. One of them is undoubtedly web design. This guide will give you more insight into the correlation between SEO and web design and how web design affects SEO rankings. Furthermore, you’ll learn how to improve your web design and get the most out of your website.
More about SEO
Firstly, let’s talk more about the way SEO works. Search engine optimization is the process of making your website more accessible to users and, consequently, promoted by the search engines. If your website complies with SEO requirements, it will rank higher in search results and, therefore, generate more conversions. SEO is all about user experience – search engines strongly value a better user experience on the website. Web Design is one factor that determines how good of an experience visitors will have on your site. Now, let’s go into more details about how web design affects SEO rankings and how to make it better.
Good web design offers simple and fast website navigation
Users will have a good time there if a website is designed well, and search engines will reward it. On the other hand, a poorly designed website will frustrate users and make them leave sooner. As a result, you’ll get a lower ranking spot and lose valuable visitors. That’s why it’s essential to improve your website design and ensure visitors spend more time on a page, better engagement and conversion rate, etc. Eliminate all the features that irritate the users – slow navigation, annoying ads, fonts that are difficult to read, etc. You’ll eliminate all the negative SEO points and achieve a higher ranking.
Search engines value the speed of the website
Day after day, the internet is getting faster and faster. New technologies give us speedier search results, faster image loading, and faster websites. Both users and search engines appreciate great website speed, which can affect SEO rankings a lot. You probably encountered a website with a poor design and slow loading speed. And there are great chances you’ve exited the page before finding what you wanted. Well, don’t let it happen to your website. Consider hiring web design experts to help you develop a fast and simple design. It’s always wise to turn to pros for advice on how to get maximum results. Like with any other service, consulting an expert is the most efficient way to reach your goal – this time, it’s the high loading speed of the pages.
Search engines include mobile responsiveness as a ranking factor
Most of the searches nowadays happen via mobile or a similar portable device (over 50 percent). That’s why mobile-first indexing is an essential factor in Google’s algorithm. For that reason, SEO appreciates mobile-friendly websites with a good responsiveness feature. This ensures your website recognizes the device that’s used for browsing and adapts all the necessary features and presentation. Such websites are ranked higher so users can get equivalent experience no matter the screen size. This feature is very useful if your website is used to sell goods and services, as people mostly use their phones to find local businesses.
A good quality web-designs recognizes multiple screen sizes and adapts the pages. Alt.tag: three devices on a desk
How to make sure your web design affects SEO rankings positively?
Probably the best way to achieve a great website design is to trust a professional to help you out. It would be best to contact someone who has experience with the website types you need. Either way, you should know about these tips that help create a more SEO-successful website design.
Readability
The content on the website must be easy to read. Even though there are many cute decorative fonts out there, not all of them are suitable for a website. The font you use should be simple and easy to understand and suit the type of your business. Furthermore, the color of the font and the background also matter. These two should be a good match, so there’s enough contrast and visibility. Finally, the size of the font is also important – it should be big enough that it’s easy to read but still small enough, so it doesn’t take up too much space.
High-quality imagery
Images on your website should be carefully picked to fit the taste of your target audience. Pick pictures that clearly show your point and support the content around them. They should also suit the style of the website in terms of color. Also, images should be high-quality but not too heavy in size because it can decrease the page loading speed.
Call-to-action buttons
Every website should have a suitable call-to-action button somewhere on the homepage. It can invite users to sign up for the newsletter, purchase services or goods, visit another page, etc.
Clutter-free pages
Your website pages need to be minimalistic, clean, and clutter-free. This kind of design will make the website look more elegant and professional, increasing the chances for users to trust you more.
Navigation that leads users in the right direction
We mentioned easy navigation, but what does that actually mean? Easy navigation means the website design is intuitive – placing the buttons where a user expects them to be. Such websites guide the users with ease, making it simple to find the home page, blog, shop page, etc. It’s predictable and ensures users have no trouble finding what they need.
These are the tips that you should tailor to your target audience – make sure to explore their needs and expectations first before you build a website. This way, you’ll ensure your web design affects SEO rankings in the most positive way, attracting more people to see your content.
Meta: Not sure if web design affects SEO rankings? It does, and we’ll show you how – learn the best practices for improving your SEO strategy through good-quality web design.