When was the last time you had thought of SEO ranking factors to be anything beyond optimization and link building?
Chances are, never! Because never in history had anything except optimization and link building impacted the SERP rankings! But now things have taken a shift. From now on, a giant factor is going to start manipulating the search rankings of a website. This ranking factor would be ‘Web Design’. Generally, when we look for a web design agency, we want a website. The purpose does not remain to rank higher. But now it must! We talked to Blurn about it, who offers expert services from SEO to web development to RTB ( https://blurn.com/au/digital-marketing-services/programmatic-real-time-bidding-display-advertising-services/ )
This article will discuss why Web Design will now be impacting your search rankings!
Why is Web Design important for SEO!
When we talk of web design, we do not just talk of how it looks. We also talk about how it runs and how it impacts the user’s experience. Keep this word, ‘User Experience’, in mind. We will pick it up again in the article ahead.
Consider this simple example to get an idea of why web design will now be impacting the SERP rankings. Suppose you have been asked by your group head to ask this very vital thing from the head of school, “When should we leave for home!” You go out with this thing to ask in your mind. But as soon as you step out, the awkward curb hits your toe and you fall down. Anyhow, you pick yourself again and start walking towards the target. But the path you are walking is muddy and you slip down again. You are frustrated now, but you have no option. Then the guard stops you unnecessarily and asks if you would love to listen from him in the future again? Ah! Brutal! You deny the guard and make your way, but then the final door is rusty and squeaky. You open it and see the head in front of you! And now you no more remember what you have come here for!
Was it a good experience? Did not you deserve a better journey from your goal to your destiny?
And now we have this internet! What if we tell you that millions of users suffer this every day. They see the SERP, click on one or two or three top links, in the hope they wait, but then they suffer their decision. Why? Because of poor web design! This is the same reason that Google now wants web design to be good and thus it now takes web design to be a direct ranking factor! This is the reason that businesses are now seeking help from an expert Web Design Agency. It will help the internet be a soothing place to surf and enjoy.
Why and how does Web Design impact SERP rankings?
Web Design does not contain the content alone, it also contains the ability to manipulate a user experience. One study found out that a slight delay in the “buy now” button led to a drop in sales. Another study found out that one second of delay in website loading speed led to a drop in 7% Conversion Rate.
This is the reason that the search engine giant is now shifting its focus on web design. It wants the User Experience to be good and the Page Experience to be high! The user, when trusting Google for the results it is showing, shall not be betrayed by putting bad quality websites on top of SERP. It will not only defile the image of Google alone but the whole internet. People will not feel good about using it.
What is User Experience?
User Experience, or UX/UE, is a term given to the total quality of experience of a user while using a product or service. It is applied in every field from manufacturing a needle to designing a plane to showing results on SERP. However, this term has gained good fame with relation to Google and the Internet.
If a user is seeing bad websites being shown in the top, the user will likely to have a bad user experience. For example,
- the content quality is not good;
- the colors are too harsh for the eyes;
- there is unnecessary content on the page;
- the advertisement shown is inappropriate;
- the font size is too small.
These are a few good examples of what a User Experience includes. These things could be dealt with easily with the help of an expert Web Design Agency.
What is Page Experience?
Page Experience, or PE, on the other hand, is the quality of functionality of a webpage. It is a ranking factor that involves a total of 7 factors. These 7 factors together decide if the website is smooth and is providing a better page experience. Consider it like the quality of a car. If the car has rusty doors, the seats are torn, the parts are making noise, then it is a bad Car Experience. Page Experience is similar. Here are the factors that together decide Page Experience –
- Core Web Vitals (Three web vitals that decide the coding efficiency of a domain or page)
- How fast the website is load? – also called LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)
- How quickly do the action buttons perform the actions? – also called FID (First Input Delay)
- Do the elements of the web page adjusts quickly? – also called CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)
- Other Web Vitals
- Mobile Responsiveness and Friendliness
- Security or HTTPS
- Intrusive Interstitials
These are all the major factors that together will calculate the Page Experience score of a website and thus rank that page accordingly. The lower the score, the lower the ranking.
This is the reason why all the companies now are looking for a Web Design Agency (visit https://www.origindigital.com.au/web-design/ for more info). It has become a need of the future, just as SEO and Link Building are.
How to get a better Web Design and Page Experience Score?
Now, it comes down to how you can ensure that your web design is not hampering your page experience score. There are tools provided by Google that provide you an insight on what scores you do have and where the issues lie. These tools would be enough for you to know if you web design has flaws or it is floral at all.
Now, the fixation would require the person to have enough coding skills, otherwise, the website might break down. If you have the right knowledge, we suggest you go for it. But if you hold no knowledge, we say go for a good Web Design Agency around you. Blurn ( https://blurn.com/au/digital-marketing-services/programmatic-real-time-bidding-display-advertising-services/ )is something that we personally suggest. It has everything that one can ever need to help their digital dreams.