When people hear the word design, they often associate it solely with appearance. This is especially true for web design, which is commonly viewed as simply making a website visually appealing. However, web design encompasses much more than aesthetics. In reality, it plays a significant role in not only attracting visitors but also keeping them engaged and improving your website’s search engine ranking. Therefore, it’s important to acknowledge the crucial role that web design plays in SEO.
1. Aesthetics (Or Lack Thereof)
Web design is commonly associated with creating an attractive website. Therefore, if a website has poor color schemes, unsuitable fonts, and outdated graphics, it is deemed poorly designed. Furthermore, such a website repels visitors and they tend to leave immediately. Moreover, if the website has an unimpressive appearance and high bounce rate, Google will interpret it as not providing any value to users and this will negatively affect its SEO ranking.
2. Navigation Issues
Even if your website has a stunning design, visitors may leave if they struggle to navigate it. A poorly designed website lacks clickable navigation elements or has a confusing navigation structure. While a functional search feature could help, without it, visitors may leave despite your SEO efforts. In this case, all your optimization work will have been wasted as visitors bounce to another site.
3. Illegible Fonts
It is a common occurrence for websites to have fonts that are either too small or have colors and backgrounds that make them practically invisible. If your website has such fonts, visitors will not bother trying to read your content. Instead, they will exit your site and move on to the next one on the search results list, which could be your competition. Remember that people visit websites for their content, so it is important to ensure that your visitors can easily read what you have to offer.
4. Slow Loading Pages
The loading speed of website pages heavily depends on your web design. Websites that have an abundance of graphics, large images, or custom fonts are more likely to experience slower loading times. It’s important to note that Google has emphasized the significance of page load speed as a ranking factor. Therefore, it’s imperative to promptly adjust your web design to reduce its weight and improve its loading speed.
5. Annoying Pop-Ups
Pop-ups are a nuisance, especially when they appear before we can view a website’s content or block the main content just as we start reading it. Although pop-ups serve a purpose, limiting their use on a website can benefit SEO by preventing visitors from quickly leaving due to annoyance.
6. Non-Responsiveness
Despite mobile users outnumbering desktop users, many websites have yet to become responsive. This could lead to lower traffic and rankings, as mobile users are quick to move on if a site doesn’t display well on their devices. It’s important to note that Google now ranks sites based on their mobile version, so implementing responsive web design is crucial for success in the ever-growing mobile market.
While SEO is undoubtedly significant, web design holds equal importance. Given the impact of web design on SEO, it is logical for webmasters to allocate additional efforts towards enhancing the web design of their websites.
