If you carefully observe Google’s algorithm updates, you’ll notice that it’s steering towards providing users with the most relevant results and most pleasant site experience possible.
It’s the way it should be and Google is doing a great job at discarding sites that do a disservice to users by constantly churning out updates that discourage bad practices.
One of those practices is terrible web design. Many things contribute to an ugly website and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Google’s updates are basically giving webmasters a nudge that they need to make their website functional and appealing; otherwise, they go down the ranks. That is why it is important to understand the difference of white hat vs black hat SEO.
Web design affects SEO in so many ways and it’s a sad reality to see that some web designers still persist with their visions of a beautifully designed website while ignoring the repercussions it might have on the SEO side of things.
This article is here to help you understand the different ways web design affects SEO.
Table of Contents
1. Page Speed
An overly designed website could mean slower loading times for your website.
Google uses page speed as one of its ranking signals and if your site takes too long to load due to heavy images, flash plug-ins, and other unnecessary fluff, you could be losing a substantial amount of traffic.
2. Navigation
Your site should be easy for both humans and crawlers to navigate.
It’s like a map that leads your user to where you want them to be whether it’s the subscription page, order page, or contact form page.
If a user looks at your site and they don’t know what to do next, expect them to click the back or X button. You don’t want that. More bounce means lesser chances of ranking.
3. Responsiveness
More and more users are accessing websites from their mobile devices and it’s only a matter of time before this becomes a norm for everyone.
Google takes mobile responsiveness into consideration when ranking a site and if yours lack responsiveness, not only will your user get annoyed with having to pinch, resize, and zoom in your site, they might just leave it altogether, which again, contributes to the bounce rate.
4. Meta Data
Meta data pertains to a webpage’s title tag, page title, and meta description.
Google looks at these to determine how to rank your site for a certain niche. This is very crucial since you will only be limited to a certain number of characters for each one.
You can’t crank out a hundred-word content here. This is Google’s way of giving you 30 seconds to sell yourself.
So do it well, and forget being extravagant and showy. Just be direct to the point.
There’s a pattern to be noticed here and that is if a site doesn’t make Google’s crawlers happy, it won’t make the user happy either.
And vice versa where if a user isn’t happy with the site, Google takes it a sign and helps them determine the site’s rank-worthiness.
If you want your site to succeed, there is a top web design company website that offers services on how to boost your SEO ranking. You don’t need to jump through Google’s hoops and abide to every single demand their update requires.
All you need to think of is your user’s experience.
How can I build my site so that it gives my users the best experience possible?
Go back to that question often when designing your site and if you’re lost, you can always touch base on Google’s guidelines to help you.
Did you have any other thoughts on the ways that web design affects SEO?
Let us know in the comments!
Wait! Before You Go, Read:
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Fabulous tips, Erik!
I stayed on this page for quite some time so I could do some testing on both of my sites. Looks like I have a bit more work to do1
B
Hi,
I agree with all the listed points about how web design affects seo. Now a days it has become very important to make webpages very responsive and should consider speeding up pages loading time.
Good points and I agree, it does seem like lately Google is doing a better job of penalizing thin content sites and rewarding sites with good, consistent content. Content is still king and making sure your site is mobile responsive is more important than ever.
Responsiveness could be one of the most important factors mentioned above. I think bloggers should be careful to choose a theme that is compatible with these various platforms. I noticed that most of my blog traffic come from mobile devices. I can understand why google might take responsiveness as a mojor factor in ranking a site.
Thanks for this good informative post Erik.
Hi Erik,
It is been quite some time now.
The 4 points you highlighted in this post are all very important; however, numbers 1 (Page Speed) & 3 (Site Responsiveness) are very crucial points that cannot be ignored..
Thanks for this reminder!
Emebu
Web designs are just like fashion they come and go. It is given when designing the layout the layout of the website to think of functionality, simplicity, user experience and a strong call to action. I like the Hamburger menu though this layout may be quite confusing for a new user in desktop but it is user-friendly for people browsing on their mobile device since mobile optimization is starting to rise this year.
Thanks for your inventive information . You have shared continuously quite effective tactic. Definitely agree with 3rd point.. Responsive website design is a unique approach within the web designing domain to make websites compatible on a wide variety of devices. Whether a smartphone, desktop, tablet or alphabet – the website works smoothly on every device and enables the user to enjoy his experience.
The most important part is the page speed that has major impact on SEO. Completely agree with the third point i.e. the responsiveness of a website. A website should be responsive and user friendly to get higher ranking.
Hey, Erik.
I love your web design it so prepossessing, for me, simple but elegant.
Truly, it’s preferable of a simple design for lessen stress and hassle but definitely attractive.
Keep posting!
Thank you!
Great post Erik! This is one epic post and a really good read. Site speed is one of googles ranking factors so I find this very Important, I use GTmetrix to check for issues. Keep up the good work mate 🙂
Hello, Erik. Thank you for sharing the effect of the web designing into the search engine optimization. Glad to read this I have another learning..
Nowadays, it is of great importance that websites are designed keeping SEO in mind. It is really a bad idea to design websites that only have visual appeal but no usability, responsiveness and other basic SEO considerations. Thanks for the awesome article,
Great advice! Navigation is so important to me. If I can’t find how to get around on a site I am not staying. Thank you so much!
I have been thinking about my work since I have been specializing in web design, it has changed a lot in the 15 years I have been involved. I think web design has a unique ‘ecology’. keep posting.
A complex site is unlikely to be appealing to users. The simpler and easier it is to use, the more effective it will be. Intuitive site structure with easy navigation and proper use of images will boost SEO.
Hi Erik, Nice post… As a web agency we completely agree that UI/UX is most important part in current scenario. As google now records visitors time spent on your site on every page and consider it as a ranking factor. So latest design and UI can engage visitor for more time and eventually help in providing nice experience to visitor and also helps you rank better in search engines.
I agree with all the listed points about how web design affects seo. Now a days it has become very important to make webpages very responsive and should consider speeding up pages loading time.
Yeah you are absolutely right. I am totally agree with you. Web design is very crucial element to generate leads and traffic. I think designers should be creative and they have to think some thing different to attract readers attention towards call to action of landing pages.
Nice post! That’s a good tips for us to upgrade our website in order to get a better SEO. Hope to read more article from your site.
Good formatting of your content helps improve the user experience of your website tremendously. It makes readers more willing to spend time to read your content and come back for more, which will ultimately signal your relevancy to search engines.