Web design and SEO go hand-in-hand, so it’s important not only to have an attractive looking website, but also one that can help produce strong search engine results. Here are some 6 key SEO tips that will improve your web design.
Make it user friendly
Making it user friendly means it should work on multiple platforms – both desktop and mobile-based.
The URL should be the same on both sites, so backlinks are easier to connect to one site rather than two. Ensure the page load speed is at a good level, the menu is not cluttered and the site is easy to read and respond to.
Read more on this here – “User Experience“
Create simple URLs
We mentioned above that the URL for both mobile and desktop sites should be the same – the URLs should also not be too complex for each page.
Keep them simple, so they describe what the page is about. This makes it easier for the search engine to understand and then rank it. Avoid using in-house references and codes that will only confused everyone else.
Optimise images
Images are important but you must pay attention to the small details to make the most out of them. Label them as what you see in the picture – as with URLs avoid using random codes and generic names.
Make sure they are sized correctly so page loading times are not slowed down, and that the resolution is of a good quality. Compress large images if needed as this will retain quality and increase page speed.
Find out more and how to optimise images here – “Images and Image Optimisation“
Social signals
Find the right social media platform for your business and start sharing engaging content. It’s important to get those likes, shares and backlinks to boost your SEO.
There are simple plug-ins that can be attached to blog pages and other areas of the website that will allow visitors to share good content on their own channels, organically bringing you into contact with an even larger audience.
There’s more on social signals here – “Social Signals“
Content length
This can be a little tricky, but the starting place is to make sure it’s of good quality. Build in external and internal links to boost the natural SEO, while use tools like Grammarly to ensure the standard of writing is up to scratch.
Generally, longer articles are favoured, but be sure to break the content up into readable chunks along with H1 and H2 titles that feature important keywords that can be picked up by Google.
There’s more about the importance of your content here – “Content Length“
Secure the site with HTTPS
Upgrading your site to HTTPS is relatively simple and will have a positive impact on your SEO. Google favours sites that have this security measure in place, and it helps build trust with your customers.
Your web host will be able to assist with this, and it will mean important and private data is much harder to capture by hackers and bots.
Read up on secure websites here – “HTTP vs HTTPS, Secure Websites“
