Web designers create visually appealing websites. But, there are SEO aspects which get overlooked by these professionals. As a website owner it is essential to recognise these oversights. An impressive looking site should also be built with the ability to perform in the search rankings and adhere to industry standards. These often neglected areas include:
A templated Website:
You invested with the cheaper deal when choosing a website designer only to find or not even know that the claimed "Professional Web Designer" actually is unable to code at a level to build you a customised website, but have purchased a $45 website template compatible with WordPress or another CMS system, changed out the logo, colours and images and branded it for your business. Often leaving errors or pages that have content you don't need.
You Upgraded Your Website & Now It's No Longer Being Found Online - No SEO Migration
A very common issue where a web designer, perhaps Mr Template editor mentioned above, has built you a new website, renamed all of your original URLs and did not set up redirects from your old website URL to the one on your shiny new website or considered ranking pages and backlinks that were supporting the visibility. The result is a website tanking in search and your once steady flow of leads or sales vanished. A good web designer or developer will include this. However, we have come across many clients who paid anything from 3K to 20K+ for their website and SEO migration was missed out. The key here is to act fast to try to recover as much as possible, but if months have passed Google has likely removed/de-indexed these pages from search as they served 404 errors. Better still, if you have a website build or rebuild underway - you need to get a full crawl of your soon-to-be old website, while it's still live.
What About The Design Itself?
Designers often prioritise selecting high-quality images to enhance visual appeal over optimising them for SEO purposes. However, this oversight can negatively impact the visibility of your website in image searches. The correct naming and tagging of each image with relevant keywords and accessibility will significantly improve its discoverability by search engines. Check your website image filenames - are they Stock images? Are image URLs named or do they have numbers and letters instead of e.g.; "building-services.jpg"? Has the ability to serve images as a WebP been put into place? Why this matters, if because images with large file sizes, slow down your page loading speed. Page Speed is ranking factor from a technical SEO standpoint but a slow loading page can negatively impact user experience too.
Mobile responsiveness:
Crucial in today's digital landscape where more people access websites through mobile devices than ever before. Some designers may prioritise desktop output above optimising for smaller screens, resulting in subpar user experiences on smartphones and tablets. It's important not to neglect this aspect of website development as it can negatively impact your overall performance online. Do you know what percentage of your existing website visitors arrive on your website via Desktop, Mobile or Tablet devices? If 65% of your website traffic comes from a mobile audience, having a desktop-focused website can be detrimental to visitors' user experience or ability to convert on your website.
Page Speed
In a world where everything is expected to be instantaneous, users expect nothing less than lightning-quick website loading times. Search engines also prioritise speedy sites when determining their ranking positioning; designers must take note of this fact and optimise site performance to minimise heavy graphics usage or inefficient code that could significantly slow down page load speeds. By doing so they'll not only improve user experience but also boost SEO results simultaneously!
Semantic Mark-Up Code:
Modern web design has become increasingly intricate with dynamic content and complex layouts. However many designers overlook the significance of semantic HTML mark-up. Properly structuring these elements using semantic tags not only enhances accessibility but also provides search engines valuable context about your content.
Schema Mark-up:
A crucial aspect of SEO that is often overlooked by designers is incorporating schema mark-up into the code of their website. This technique enables search engines to comprehend the content and context on each page more accurately, leading to better results in terms of rich snippets and structured data. To avoid missing out on these opportunities it's important for designers not to neglect this advanced optimisation strategy.
Canonical tags:
Play a vital role in specifying the preferred version of web pages, when multiple URLs contain identical or similar content. Failure to implement these correctly can result in duplicate content issues that may negatively impact your site's SEO performance. Website owners and developers alike must ensure proper use of canonical tags as part of their strategy.
Web Accessibility:
Crucial to ensure that individuals with disabilities can easily navigate and utilise websites. Unfortunately, designers prioritise aesthetics over inclusivity when creating sites. This neglects important guidelines like WCAG compliance. By incorporating these measures a website will be an accessible platform where everyone feels welcome.
Cross-Browser Compatibility:
Your website's success depends on its ability to provide a consistent user experience across different web browsers and versions. Designers may overlook the importance of testing their designs for compatibility with less popular browsers. This can lead to display issues or usability problems. Cross-Browser compatibility should be in place so that all visitors can enjoy a good browsing experience when visiting your site.
URL Structure:
Creating a logical and descriptive URL hierarchy is for both user experience and SEO is an important aspect when designing websites as it helps users navigate through the site more easily while also improving search engine rankings, by making content easier to understand. By reflecting the structure of your site in its URLs this provides accessibility across all devices and platforms - ultimately leading towards increased engagement from visitors who are searching for specific information on your website.
Security Measures:
Cyber threats pose a significant risk to both user trust and SEO for websites. Unfortunately many designers neglect implementing the correct and conforming security measures such as SSL encryption, regular software updates or strong security policies within the code, which can leave sites vulnerable to hack attempts or malware infections.
In conclusion, while web designers are skilled at creating visually appealing and functional websites they may inadvertently neglect critical aspects of SEO compliance. As a website owner it is crucial to communicate your priorities clearly with your design team so that these often overlooked elements receive the attention they deserve. By addressing these areas proactively you can enhance both visibility and usability on an increasingly competitive online landscape.
Salisbury SEO can put you in touch with web designers and developers who work to high standards of compliance and conformity as perform both pre and post-migration checks that incorporate SEO. Get in touch to request their details or to get support with your website's organic search visibility.