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8 Web Design Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Seo

Last updated: 12 January 2022

6 min

1. Splash Pages

Splash screens are a fun addition to any website, but they can also operate as a barrier between search engines and your website. Search engine spiders frequently devalue or overlook non-textual items such as Flash and Java applets. Search engines will not favor a homepage with no content or navigation because it results in incorrect indexing of the full website.

It is better not to add splash pages at all but if a splash page is really necessary, what you can do is that you can add a lot of textual material to the body of the page.

2. Too Much Flash

Surprisingly, frames are still used in the design of some websites. Aside from the fact that they are no longer relevant, they will not assist you in improving your website's search engine optimization. Search engines will have a tough time finding all of the useful content on your site if you employ frames. It's worth noting that framed websites employ three HTML files instead of one, resulting in a slew of indexing issues.

3. Using Frames

4. Using Images Instead of Important Elements

Images used as the primary mode of navigation will be flagged by search engines even if they have no practical use. Navigation by pure text, on the other hand, is not a good habit. What is the solution? It’s Simple, use text-over-image approaches with CSS.

When using headers, it's also not a good idea to use photos. It may seem great if the content is substituted with stunning images with text, but it will not help with SEO. Because header language is supposed to draw attention to the most significant terms, using graphics instead will detract from the entire content.

5. Lack of Breadcrumbs

A well-managed breadcrumb trail matrix will dramatically improve your website’s search engine performance. Text links are not only easy for search engines to understand, but they also create a clear hierarchical navigation structure.

It so happens that the designers often overlook breadcrumbs, even though they significantly improve a website's user-friendliness.

6. Pop-Ups

For starters, pop-ups are frowned upon by everyone, not just by visitors but also by the designers and even the search engines. They're inconvenient, and most users close them as soon as they... appear. Furthermore, they quickly elicit negative feelings about the page, and search engines do not index them as part of the website. It's safe to say that, for everyone's sake, it's better to forget about pop-ups forever.

7. Improper 404 Error Page

Adding a custom 404 error page to your website is always a fun way to inject some humor. However, this need for originality may lead to the disregard of more important elements, such as the link for returning back to the website.

Be very careful while using 404 error pages otherwise, search engines will flag your website as having broken internal links, which will lower its search rankings.

8. Neglecting the Navigation Standards

There are definitely a few designers out there who think that making an overly complicated website with no conventional navigation components or footer links will attract users and make them feel distinctive and unique. However, this is regrettable. For both visitors and search engines, well-organized navigation for the website is crucial.

If you don't use creativity and don’t align it systematically, it'll lead to a bad internal linking structure, hurting your ranks and reputation. The global navigation bar must be visible on every page; otherwise, people may become disoriented while browsing the website.

Generally, all of the aforementioned errors are the result of one fundamental issue: focusing solely on the visual aspect and leaving the vital SEO criteria for once a website's design is complete.

Also read: How to Make SEO and Web Design Work Together?

SEO must be considered while deciding the design elements. Even if a designer creates great artwork, it is ultimately worthless if it cannot be found. An SEO expert who is brought in early in the design phase can help you save a lot of money by ensuring that everything is done correctly the first time.

This is it for today’s blog. I hope you liked reading it and that you’ve learned a thing or two about keeping the website’s design SEO-friendly. Do share your thoughts with me and reach out to me if you have any questions or comments.

If you are a business owner who wants an SEO-friendly website that ranks well on search engines, contact Prism Digital, the best SEO agency in Dubai and our SEO experts will create tailored strategies to rank your website on top SERPs, where all the magic happens. See you on the other side. Thank you.

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About The Author: Lovetto Nazareth

Lovetto Nazareth is the Founder & CEO of Prism Digital, a Dubai-based digital marketing and advertising agency he started nearly two decades ago from a laptop and a vision, as he puts it, to one of the region's established full-service agencies spanning SEO, PPC, social media, web design, and PR.

Over more than 19 years in advertising and digital marketing, Lovetto has guided thousands of campaigns across the UAE and GCC, working across sectors from real estate to hospitality to fintech. He writes and speaks on digital transformation and marketing strategy, and has contributed opinion pieces to Campaign Middle East, one of the region's leading marketing trade publications.

He takes a data-first approach to growth testing, measuring, and iterating rather than relying on guesswork and outside of work he's an adventure sports enthusiast and a singer-songwriter.