In the era of the Internet, online marketing is a key component of business development. SEO, or search engine optimization, is a set of requirements for sites, based on which they are assigned an appropriate position in search results. These rules relate to various aspects of the structure of a web resource, from coding to page loading speed. When it comes to website design, new and quite popular concepts like UI and UX come to mind. Both user interface and user experience are made up of many important aspects, which should work together to the benefit of a business, bringing it to the top. Below, you will read about the points you should pay special attention to when developing a web platform.
Search engines analyze a site in a complex way, from the user’s point of view. You should be aware that most design components work for SEO but in two directions. They count towards ranking factors and affect user behavior as well. A search engine algorithm checks if your site meets certain design requirements and tracks user interaction. Together, these factors raise or lower your site’s ranking and move its position up or down on the list.
Also Read – SEO Content Writing for Small Business
Interface
UI design includes working on the graphic part of an interface: animation, illustrations, buttons, menus, slides, photos, and fonts. The designer determines a color palette and an arrangement of objects in the interface. It is UI specialists who are responsible for such details as:
- what message a site displays during a particular action
- whether it is convenient to click “Order”
- whether a drop-down menu works correctly
- whether it is easy to fill out a form
- whether a text is readable on a smartphone.
The algorithms examine a wide array of things, including the possibility to use a link when clicking on a site’s logo since this is an intuitive way to return the user to the main page.
Besides, it’d be reasonable to draw your attention to visuals, as their role in a page’s SEO ranking is often underestimated. While keywords and navigability are critical, visuals also contribute to the page’s high positioning on the web. Therefore, it’s vital to use a useful background remover and other pertinent tools to brush up on visuals and make them the highest quality, thus elevating the page’s ranking.
Mobile Version
Speaking of smartphones, it should be understood that the number of users who prefer surfing the web via portable devices is becoming greater and greater. That is why search engines will move you to the next page in the search results if the site design is not adapted to mobile devices with different screen sizes and resolutions. And, at the very least, you will lose an impressive number of potential customers because of your site’s incompatibility with portables. Therefore, either a separate mobile version of the site should be created (the pages open under a different URL), or the design should be made adaptive.
Page Loading Speed
Users do not like sites that load the pages slowly. If this applies to your platform, you run the risk of high bounce rates and low time spent on the site, which will negatively affect the ranking of your resource by the algorithms. Loading speed largely depends on the optimization of the site code and the resources of your hosting service. You can also check the image weight and page caching settings, which can produce a slow speed. With the help of online tools, the weight of images can be reduced to a minimum without losing their quality. Also, if a browser stores some of them in its own cache, it will speed up loading.
Navigation and Site Structure
Everything here should be well-thought-out, clear, and work properly. Whether you have a trove of articles on a variety of topics or hundreds of products on your site, customers should be able to quickly find and access them. Finding what you need should be intuitive and take a few steps only. An important point is the availability of a search bar on a site. This feature provides the user with a quick search for information or goods and helps your site strengthen its position in search results. Also, one should not forget about such important sections as contact information and links to social networks. If you are a representative of a commercial site, you must specify active working hours and provide an online chat option, FAQ sections, informational articles, and so on. All this should be easily accessible.
Conclusion
It should be clear that the appearance of a site plays an important role in creating an overall impression in the minds of users. Therefore, you should keep up with the times and ditch boring page design and solid text pieces if you want to get customers interested. After all, people need 3 seconds to understand whether they will stay on a site or close it. And search engine algorithms are affected by the number of returns from the site to the search page, the time spent on the resource, and the overall user interaction.