How to Build an Optimized Website: Website Design

You do not need a stock photo of a happy PC user to understand the value of website design...

Search engine optimization (SEO) describes the techniques applied to a website to improve user experience and increase search engine exposure. An experienced SEO firm will optimize each of these elements.

For a website owner, however, optimization might mean any technique that will help his/her site succeed online. This is like Google's view of SEO as making "small modifications to parts of your website." 

In the end, the best form of SEO is SEO that works. Unfortunately, most website owners must cut through the techno-jargon of SEO firms to understand their meta tags from their backlinks. 

Here's a tip: Optimize your website from the beginning.

If you are thinking of building a website, and you want to assure your site is optimized for search engines, you've come to the right place. 

How to Build an Optimized Website

To build an optimized website, you need web design and development expertise or the help of a good web design and development team. 

Unfortunately, not all web design and development professionals understand how to build websites optimized for search engines. 

Most design and development teams can build a workable and attractive site--but if the site is not optimized, and does not attract and convert visitors, it is no more than a high-priced business card.

In other words, a site without optimization is a waste of money.

For aspiring website owners, then, it is essential to guide the work so that optimization is considered from the beginning.

Building a Website: Four Key Jobs

To build a fully-optimized website consider four key jobs:

1. Website Design

2. Website Development

3. Content Creation

4. Conversion Optimization 

Website Design

People often confuse website design and website development. Here's a simple view:

Website development is the “back-of-the-house” programming of a website—how each page is coded and how the different pages interact with each other.

Website design is the “front-of-the-house” appearance and usability of a website.

To build an optimized website, choose a website designer who can build a beautiful website that is easy to navigate.

"Easy-to-navigate" is the most important element of good website design.

Visitors appreciate an easy-to-navigate website. More importantly, perhaps, search engines pay attention to design elements like ease of navigation when surfacing search results. 

A poorly-designed website might not even be "crawled," and the site will not be added to the search engine's database. 

To summarize: Quality website design is the first step to an optimized website that will attract and convert customers.

Check back next week for part two: Website Development.

If you are interested in transforming your website into a money-making tool or are interested in exploring opportunities to outperform your competition, we encourage you to contact SEO SPARTA.

We combine traditional marketing methods and organic SEO--emphasizing natural website optimization--to design thoughtful, inspiring, and effective marketing campaigns.

Contact us