Online Visibility Tips
To be successful in the era of search engine visibility, wherein a pretty site is not enough to entice visitors, there are a couple things a web designer should give much emphasis to. More and more web designers are learning this lesson the hard way. A lot of websites, though the look and feel is impressive, fall short of what a website is really expected to do.
To be successful, a website has to have a purpose, and needs to have a content that matches that purpose. This content should also be easily found by a new user. But for a user to actually get something out of a website, the website itself should be easily accessible to its target audience. If not, a website will most definitely not succeed if it doesn’t have visitors. Among all the important factors in web design, the visual appeal of a site does not play that much of a role. Yes, the appearance of a site is important, but it most definitely is not everything, as some web designers seem to think.
More important than a site’s appearance is its usefulness to its intended audience. A site’s usefulness or usability is most important in achieving the site’s purpose. If a website is aimed towards providing information, it should be usable in the sense that it contains relevant information that is presented in an organized manner that will make sense to users. The information should also be easily found. If a website is trying to sell a product, its usability is evaluated based on how it guides a buyer through the buyer decision process. Does it provide information about the company and its products? Does it give the customer a clear idea of how to purchase something online? In a nutshell, the site’s usability requires that the website should be user-friendly so that it will be helpful to its users. If a site is not easy to navigate, a customer’s desire to purchase a product can wane and someone looking for information may move on to the next site in line.
There are some fairly easy ways of achieving a website’s usability. For starters, a site map will help a lot. This allows people a reference page where they can go in case they can’t find what they’re looking for. A consistent layout or arrangement of the navigation panel of your website will also avoid confusion. It also helps that a user can easily go from one page to another without having to go back to the main page. This can be solved by well-planned links. Other web designers also opt to place site search engines which users can simply use to find something within the website.
A website’s usability, however, is still not enough. Naturally, a useful site will still not be successful if it doesn’t have visitors. This is where search engine visibility comes in. Search engine visibility is your website’s chances of appearing in search engine results when relevant keywords are used. The importance of search engine visibility cannot be further stressed. First, it is a good way to ensure that your site will get visited. Second, since people will be visiting your site, your site’s chances to achieve its purpose will increase. A site map can also be used to strengthen search engine visibility, and there are plenty of other ways to make sure your website appears on search engine results. Search engines also have specific basis whether a site is worth listing. For example, sites that use JavaScript may not be readily accepted by search engines. It is good to learn about how to design a site optimized for search engines, and web designers should put much time and effort into this.
If your site is usable and is visible on search engine results, then there’s no harm in making it look as impressive as you can. Just make sure that the first two factors are covered before spending too much time in your site’s appearance. After all, a website is not created only to showcase a designer’s skills and artistic ability. A website’s appearance should also not be geared towards displaying all the latest in design technology. Although it will not hurt if a website does both, it should not be the primary concern. Before anything else, a website’s appearance should reflect the site’s purpose and message. The appearance should also arrange the contents in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Finally, the appearance of a website should enhance it and assist in achieving the site’s overall purpose.
Like this article? Add it to your favorite social bookmarks.
