3 Ways Your Website Design Can Ruin Your SEO

Many people only think about search engine optimization (SEO) as affected by the content they have on their site. SEO is also affected by your website design and new websites can easily face challenges that may ruin their rankings unless they have a professional website.

Mobile-Unfriendly

Search engines frequently give preference to websites that are mobile-friendly, which means they rank higher than their desktop-only counterparts. When you are judging your website to determine if the design is mobile-friendly, you need to look at it in desktop and mobile modes. The easiest way to create a website optimized for mobile devices is to use a template that is responsive. This means the website and its content automatically adjusts based on the viewer's screen size. Just because a website is responsive does not mean it will perform well on mobile. You need to consider how images and menus look and respond for the mobile viewer.

Clutter

A cluttered website is not only aesthetically unappealing, but it will also significantly slow down the responsiveness of your website. Another factor that affects SEO is the speed of your website, with slower, less responsive websites being penalized. The easiest way to avoid clutter is by only including video or graphics that are pertinent to the message you are trying to convey. If your website has necessary graphics or videos, prevent them from playing automatically so they do not promptly slow down the experience for visitors. Websites that must have extensive graphics and videos should have the necessary resources available, such as upgraded storage and bandwidth or a private server.

Poor Design

An overall poor design does not seem like it would affect SEO, but it does. Generally, visitors do not stay on a website for long periods if the website is unappealing to look at or difficult to navigate. Part of your search engine ranking will be determined based on how long people stay on your website. If you have a high "bounce rate," you will likely notice declines in your ranking. It is not easy for algorithms to determine why people leave your website quickly and go elsewhere. The algorithm may assume your content is not relevant to the search terms used by visitors. Part of improving your design will be to invest in a customized website and not rely exclusively on free templates and stock photos. These cookie-cutter websites are often unappealing and can make a website with good content look unprofessional.

Having a professionally-designed website is not only important for improving the look and professionalism of your website, but the design can also affect your rankings in search engines. Investing in a professional website can prevent an otherwise quality website from ranking unnecessarily low.

For more information, contact a website design service.