What is Good Web Design from an SEO Point of View?
While a lot of guides just throw around terms like ‘good’, ‘efficient’ or ‘optimal’ web design, one simply has to wonder what metrics are used in their evaluation. Imagine a scenario where your website is all but aesthetic, yet, for some strange reason, your particular target demographic is responding strongly to it. Wouldn’t that make it efficient? A similar thing is currently going on with a design trend known as brutalism, where this design trend is deemed ugly by so many developers out there, while, at the same time, no one can deny its efficiency.
Therefore, in order to make this guide a bit different, we are going to observe these web design elements from an SEO point of view. In other words, we will try to evaluate which practices can improve your ranking in search engines with the greatest success rate.
Going mobile friendly
Having a website with great responsiveness for PC but a blind spot for mobile users is definitely not a good idea in 2017. The main reason behind this is the fact that as of 2017, Android is officially a more popular web browsing OS than Windows. Therefore, turning a blind eye on your mobile users will both diminish your UX and your overall ranks.
There are several ways not to allow this to happen, so here are several tips. First of all, you need to think about font size. Reading on a tiny smartphone screen is much easier with a larger font, which diminishes your bounce rate and provides greater UX. Secondly, you need to have a layout design that can seamlessly resize to fit monitors, tablet and mobile screens alike. Finally, you need to turn towards the viewpoint tag, in order to help your PHP/HTML page display its layout well.
Minimalist design
Another thing that can prevent your website from unleashing its full potential is having too many design elements. Seeing as how each of them requires an additional HTTP request, this method prolongs the time it takes for your website to fully load. According to one survey, if failing to load within four seconds, your website stands to lose one-quarter of its audience. To make a long story short, while adding numerous flashy items to the layout may seem like a great visual choice, going with minimalist design usually yields optimal results.
Always go with white-hat SEO
One of the things that can separate black- from white-hat SEO are the long-term results. According to experts at a prestigious New York SEO company who brought us great SEO tools like Dibz and Reportz, finding a way to drive enough targeted traffic is the best way to add some worth to your website. Now, while it may be true that black-hat techniques give you short-term results, in the long run, this kind of strategy always backfires. Those who are serious about their digital footprint and the future of their business/personal brand, need to take the high road and go with white hat SEO.
Simple navigation
The next thing you need to realize is that the navigation on your website isn’t just something you do for your audience. Crawlers (Googlebots), use these same channels to navigate your domain. In other words, making a simple, highly-intuitive navigation system can significantly facilitate the process of your website getting indexed.
Avoiding duplicate content
If there’s one thing that Google simply hates, it’s duplicate content. Those who are serious about their work might consider getting a premium duplicate content checker, but, there are some great free platforms out there, as well. In other words, in this day and age, there is simply no excuse for posting duplicate content on your website.
Check for broken links
Since your visibility is always a top priority, facing a visibility drop is more of a nightmare than a minor hiccup. One of the easiest ways to get into this situation is through numerous redirection requests due to the fact that you have a broken link you haven’t noticed. This massive problem happens for a number of reasons and some of them are as absurd as a spelling error or even character sensitivity. Luckily, this problem is incredibly easy to fix. All you need to do is find a reliable broken link checker and you have it all covered.
Conclusion
By adhering to these six simple principles, you will significantly improve your website from an SEO standpoint. The best thing, however, is that what’s good for Google, usually ends up being great for your users, as well. This means that you are basically killing two birds with one stone. Keep in mind that the more you grow professionally, the more you will come to rely on your online presence, which is why it is highly advisable to learn how to handle your SEO as soon as possible.
Nate Vickery
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good article