It’s more than just a pretty page
Abigail Thorpe
Websites are standard issue for most businesses nowadays—you’d be hard put to find a business owner who wouldn’t agree it’s essential. After all, think of how consumers act. We search for a service or product, and then we click on the website.
Here’s where it gets more complicated. A pretty landing page is not enough. In this age where most business comes from online searches, your website needs to be accessible, beautiful and well-designed, optimized for search engines and mobile friendly. After all, more than 80 percent of shoppers go online before they visit a store or make a purchase. Don’t let your website slide to the second or third page, or worse yet, turn people away because it’s outdated, slow or doesn’t invoke trust.
More than 50 percent of searches now come from mobile, so the first order of business is to make sure your website is optimized for mobile. Mobile-friendliness was made a ranking factor for Google in 2015, and mobile-first indexing started in 2017, so mobile website optimization goes beyond viewer experience—it’s key to higher website rankings.
Beyond mobile, it’s important to make sure your web design is easy to read. This applies to text size and placement, color choice, and where and how information is presented. How a website looks is important for attracting viewers but is also key to instilling trust in your visitors. If your site looks outdated and suspicious, people are not going to trust your product or service.
Designing your website and content with SEO in mind is critical. Certain keywords and phrases will attract your target audience and boost your website in search results, resulting in more traffic to your website and a more distinct brand image. Make sure content and headings are targeted at a specific audience, and use keyword optimization to cut through the jumble of content on the web and reach your intended reader.
Search friendly URLs and site mapping are important for a good search ranking. Use good headings, paragraphs and links that are specific to your content, searchable and unique. Site mapping is a way of providing a guide of all your website pages and content to search engines and is vital to a healthy online presence.
Website speed is key in today’s fast-paced environment. If your page doesn’t load in two seconds or less, there’s a good chance of losing your audience. Make sure your website is cleaned up and designed for fast loading—no one wants to wait 10 seconds for a page they’re not even sure they want to read in the first place. Don’t give them the chance to second guess it.
Finally, make sure you’re using the latest HTML language to make your website accessible and up to date. But don’t worry, if getting into the nitty gritty of all the behind-the-scenes stuff has you overwhelmed, Rocket Fish Digital can help. Getting your website higher rankings, a cleaner design and mobile friendly is why we do what we do, every day.
Comentários