If you do an internet search using the term “web design Dallas” there are a number of factors that will come into the picture before you get your results. Although they all happen within an instant, your search engine is doing cartwheels in the background trying to present you with the most reliable answers to your query that it can possibly give.
In any event, when it comes to the design of a website there are a few things to keep in mind. This website will be a direct reflection of the company that it represents. If it looks great and works flawlessly, the company looks great as well. If it looks bad and does not function properly, this will also make the company look bad and dysfunctional.
You would think that people that use the internet would have a little more depth to them than to be so judgmental, but they are who they are, and the only way to get ahead of them is to make sure your website looks and works the way that it is supposed to.
The Human Perspective
The quality of a business can be a matter of perspective of the people that are looking at it. For some people a motorcycle business is frowned-upon and for others businesses that sell products that are made from animals are no good.
Both of those types of businesses, however, have their own types of fans. This means that it is best to get the approval of your target audience when it comes to the content and the look of your site.
If your website is promoting animal-based products but appears before the eyes of vegans you are asking for problems. The trick is that you cater only to the people that are interested in what your website has to offer instead of blanketing the world with your marketing tactics.
When it comes to digital marketing on the internet it is very important to do keyword research and find the best keywords for your particular business so that you can get the most out of each visitor that lands on your website.
Association With Other Businesses
People tend to judge other people by the friends that they have. This also is the way that things go in the business world. One of the things that can happen on a website is that it can point links to other websites that might be great associates, but it can also link to sites that are considered shady, spammy…or even illegal.
If an eCommerce website that sells beauty products gets a bunch of backlinks from other websites that have been accused of spam, it can make the eCommerce site appear to be spammy as well…simply because it has links to it from spammy sites.
One of the things that Google does is judge the authenticity of a website based on the number and types of backlinks that it has. When there is a large number of spammy backlinks to the site, along with some spammy outbound links the site can appear like spam central and cause Google to remove it from its options.
In addition to the issue of spammy backlinks, you might notice that many websites have a list of clients that they serve along with images that present the business logo and information. Although this can be a good technique that will establish a sense of familiarity with potential clients, it can also associate the company with businesses that are unfavorable to certain groups of people.
When a website is trying to be neutral about hot topics but associates itself with companies that are loud about how they believe, it can cause a situation where customers that have strong opinions will steer away from the company because it seems like it supports values that are against their beliefs.
Although some websites want to stay on a particular side of the fence when it comes to hot topics, other companies would rather stay away from the drama and just try to do the best they can without offending anybody.
Poor Seach Engine Optimization
One of the things that can really hurt a website is that it is structured for SEO in a way that actually harms it instead of helps it. When somebody builds a website that expects it to show up in search results they have to do it the right way, or they can cause serious problems.
One of the biggest mistakes that a developer can make is to design a website for certain keywords and stuff those words into every paragraph of every page. In addition to stuffing the words in pages, they will also send backlinks to the home page of the site from various other websites.
Some of the things that can really put a damper on search engine visibility are:
- Backlinks from toxic sites
- Pages stuffed with keywords
- Poorly created web pages
- Improper website structure
It is not easy for websites to appear in searches in the first place, so it is important to keep in mind that being stuffed to the bottom of search results is a lot easier than ranking highly for choice keywords.
Proper SEO Tactics
When the person that is designing the website has search engine optimization in mind from the beginning of the project they are more likely to get amazing results and promote beneficial health to the entire website’s structure.
The overall design of the website goes hand in hand with the way that search engines see the website from the technical side. When humans look at websites from the view of the browser they see images, words, fonts, layouts, and so on. When the search engines look at a website they see the code and the structure of the site from the back end of the site.
If that code is structurally sound with proper titles, headings, metadata, and alt text the search engine can see it and detect it within milliseconds.
Proper search engine optimization stems from a person that has an understanding of how search engines work and the way that websites function. When you mix healthy search engine optimization with the factor of conversion rate you end up with a potentially successful website.
Proper and Improper Image Placement
When a person that is browsing the internet stumbles upon a website that they found as the result of a search they are inclined to see the first thing that pops up at them from the site. Regardless of what they are searching for, or what the site is offering, the first thing a person sees is what is directly in their line of sight.
When you put images right in this spot it is important that they convey a positive message that makes the entire site look inviting and safe. If you put offensive images for people to see as soon as they land on the page, they will be offended and this will be the opinion that they carry of your business as they move to the next website where they will spend their money instead of yours.
Conclusion
The best way to ensure that you are getting a website that properly portrays your business is to hire a professional to build it for you and have them structure it in the way that best serves your needs. One of the worst things a company can do is have an amateur build their website and allow it to be publicly live on the internet where the whole world can look at it and even take pictures if they like. Get a professional agency that will walk you through the process and show you your options.