Miguel Angel Tolsa
The Design of a Web Page Should Always Consider:
Site Navigation
The navigation through the site must follow a visible hierarchy and include links to further clarify topics or deepen on any product information. Each of the pages must be built around the keywords that define what you do.
MAP: Include a Site Map
Your webpage must include a map of the site and once its design is finished, this map must be shared with Google. Google uses this map to learn more about the whole structure of your website and increase the coverage of your content pages. Make sure this is part of the work reach that is considered by your web developer otherwise, you must hire someone who will include this.
Usefulness: Build a site that is useful
A key difference from old-fashioned websites is that we're not only building an online brochure or a great looking website rather, we focus on the usefulness of the site. It must be packed with all the information that your current and potential clients might need. And the content offered on every page of your site should help you tell your story. Don't try to make your site just look "pretty", this is the main mistake of creative agencies and web designers. Looks are fine but your site should help you get customers. Use every page of your website to offer content that provides a benefit to the visitors who are searching for what you have and to help search engines index your site as well. You will have time to be pleasant when you have meetings in person.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
We're all surprised by the way Google finds information. Few people really understand what the optimization of their site means in terms of Google finding a site's content and why this is so important. To rank well on search engines you basically need to take into account those keywords or phrases that people may use in order to find your company's website and include them on the content that your site offers.
Homework: Find your Keywords
You already have homework before you start building your website: Find those words and phrases that people may use to find your business, your service or product since including them on your website is a key component of its effectiveness. It's very important to consider this. You can find your keywords by using Google's keyword tool or you can make sure that your web developer's proposal includes this service. You could probably use the free keyword tool and find out what to do but we do recommend hiring people who really know what they're doing and have them do this for you.
Use text, not images
Images are very important, so don't take this as an advice against using images. A visually appealing site that includes images is, in our opinion, a must. However, Google cannot "see" those images on its website, so images should not be used as a replacement for written content, because otherwise, Google interprets the content as "the page is empty".
Make sure that if you use images (which you must):
- They should support the written text that's been uploaded on every page of your website
- They should not have any importante or key text written/pasted on them
- They should all have an alt+text tag added to them that describes the content of the image so that Search Engines find this content more easily
Your site must load quickly
As part of your web development project, be sure to ask about the loading time of your site. And if you want to check it yourself, use a tool like PageSpeed or WebPageTest. The faster your website loads, the more Google will like it and the happier your current and potential customers will be. You must never forget that while the goal of your business is to sell more things to more people, Google's goal is to offer its users the most relevant results to their search as well as a great user experience, as quickly as possible. Quick sites make users happy. Fast sites also make Google happy.
Make your Site Cell-Phone Friendly
Consumers access the Web from mobile devices more than they do from their desks. Make sure that, as part of your web development project or analysis of your overall web presence, you are not forgetting the importance of having a good cell-phone/mobile presence.
