In most cases, each stage of website creation is perceived by the customer separately. Prototype, layout, layout programming, content, design, search engine optimization, testing. All of that takes a separate part during development, however, it will be really hard to implement good search engine optimization if you do not plan ahead.

Imagine walking into a huge shopping mall. All around you are dozens of shops. Whatever you have in mind to buy – the choice is enormous. Which shop will you go to? The one with a bright window display, but it’s not immediately clear what exactly is being sold there? The merchandise is poorly sorted and you can’t tell where everything is located. Or another one that is not at all that fancy, but intuitively easy to navigate.

Or perhaps the one where you are immediately surrounded by several advisors, behind whom you can’t even see the assortment? Which of these shops will be more profitable for a shopping center?

Search engines, like the mall owner in our metaphor, are interested in ensuring that the user gets the most relevant and highest quality results for their query. That being said, the appearance of a website can vary. Search engines don’t have eyes. But they do have the ability to assess parameters that directly affect the usability of your site by visitors.

Therefore, the following requirements are imposed on the design and usability of websites by search engines:

• Do not exceed the optimum page weight. The search robot will not process that part of the code which exceeds the set value (80 Kb). Excessive weight to the page can add style sheets, graphic elements, script files. As a result, it will take a long time to load, exceeding the optimal speed (2 seconds on a desktop and 3 seconds on a mobile device). Here you can check your website speed.
• Don’t overload the code. This rule rhymes well with the previous one. Check the site code for Javascript, dynamic tags, etc. It’s better to move them to separate plugins.
• Implement an internal search. The presence of the search string on the site provides the user with the ability to quickly find information or products, as well as strengthen positions in the search engine.
• Provide simple and clear navigation on the site. So that the visitor understands as soon as he gets on the page. Fill the top section of the page with text content. SEO experts know that the higher the text on the page, the greater the weight of the keywords used in it. On the other hand, abusing this rule can scare away visitors. A lot of textual content that is not “diluted” with graphic elements, most likely won’t work.
• Use a fast hosting server, this will prevent you from downtimes and mad customers. If you never thought about changing your hosting it may be the right time, and this may be the right choice for you. InterServer web hosting has a lot of positive reviews.
• Add a link to the home page when you click on the logo. This is an intuitive way for the user to get back to the beginning. And search engines closely monitor its implementation.
• Make sure the site is mobile-ready. And do your best to make it equally usable on devices with different screen dimensions.
• Implement a footer menu and add a back button to that part of the site.
• Carefully structure text content. Properly design paragraphs (every 1,000 characters), headings, and subheadings (H1, H2. H3).
• Add links to other pages. Underline them.
• Test the page and make it display correctly in any browser.
• Display contact details at the top of the page and in the footer. Phones, addresses, email, opening hours. Contacts for messengers are also welcome.

How search engines evaluate website design

It’s worth remembering that search engine algorithms work simultaneously in two directions: anti-spam and optimization. The first “remove points” from the site for non-compliance, and the second, as a “good cop”, on the contrary, accrue bonuses for compliance. As a result, the page receives “weight”, which directly affects its position in search engine rankings.

Why do search engine algorithms pay so much attention to design?

In fact, this feature is the only one that allows you to identify a “doorway” (a spam site that automatically generates content for a search query and redirects the user to another web resource) the first time they “meet” it. The number of created doorways is large and it is not reasonable to spend time on developing a unique design for each of them. The rules tend to change from one search engine to another, and if you are interested in diving deeper, make sure to get yourself familiar with search engine differences.

It turns out that any young website with a template design automatically falls under the suspicion of anti-spam protection. Such web resources spend some time in the “sandbox”, which is a space of limited opportunities.

As positive characteristics (attendance, viewing depth, positive behavior on the site) emerge, the optimization system will increase the credibility of the site, opening the way to the top for low-frequency queries. Once a sufficient number of positive points are accumulated, suspicion will be lifted and promotion will become more effective.

Factors for which search engine crawlers increase a website’s credibility:

• Unique design.
• The “age” of the page: the time span since domain registration.
• User activity: whether they read texts, make purchases, leave comments, find what they’re looking for. You can read more about how user behavior affects SEO.
• Interaction with social networks.
• Data from directories and advertising offices in the search network.
• Indication of contact details and official registration numbers of the entrepreneur/business.

The ideal web design. How?

When surfing the internet, you’ve noticed more than once that the top-ranked sites aren’t always user-friendly, and don’t always have what you’re looking for. At the same time, the page you wanted to return to again and again was found after a long search around the web and was carefully bookmarked.

Why is this the case? When designing a website, some developers focus on SEO-optimization to the detriment of appearance and usability. And then the page is easy to promote, but not very usable for visitors. Sometimes, on the contrary, too much attention is paid to appearance and navigation. As a result, the web resource is convenient for users, but it is not easy for them to find.

You are already familiar with the requirements of search engines, which are set for the design. It remains to make sure that the page is convenient for users and their behavior on the page will only improve the position in “Google”, and if you want to check out trends for SEO optimization in 2021, check out this article.

A perfect web design is the product of coordinated work between a designer and an SEO specialist during the development phase of the site. A compromise on every parameter in which both sides win.