The moment we learn about websites and how they can shoot our businesses to success we are thrilled right away and look for ways to own one.
Now I'm not saying that that is a problem it's a good thing because it shows we care about our business and are determined to reach our goals.
However, the problem comes in when we take lightly the responsibility that comes with owning a website and the repercussions of having a “bad” website on the internet. Cost and labor aside.
What most of us don't understand is the weight, of designing and maintaining a website carries.
A single mistake can cost you potential customers and even credibility for your business.
Luckily, this article covers such common mistakes that will help you avoid them.
Let's dive in.
What is a website structure design and Why is it important
A website structure is an arrangement of a series of organized web pages and web content interconnected within a website. It determines how smoothly a visitor will interact with your website.
The best structure for your website has the following in place:
- A clear hierarchy
- An easy navigation
- A responsive web design
- A clear call to action
- A fast page speed
A good website structure allows visitors to go through your website with ease. It also allows Google to index the content on your website freely and gives it a clear understanding of your website's goal therefore increasing the chance of ranking on result pages.
Common pitfalls to avoid in website structure design
Building a website has become an easy task that anyone with no prior experience can do. However, some mistakes can be made along the way.
The most common mistakes categorized into two are:
- Website design mistakes - these mistakes affect your website users directly.
- SEO pitfalls - these mistakes hurt your website’s SEO.
Depending on the depth and severity of these mistakes, you risk losing potential clients and a penalty from search engines.
Two things are affected by mistakes made in website structure design:
- A user experience
- SEO
The good news is, by learning about them you can avoid making them along your journey.
Let's explore.
Common Website Design Mistakes
#1 Lack of Mobile Optimization
Over 6 billion people from all over the world use smartphones to scroll through the internet. While the average time a person spends on Google is 22 minutes per visit.
This means that most people spend more of their time on their phones and are likely to interact with your website in that way.
Chances are you are reading this article from your phone.
Having a website that only favors desktop users makes it challenging for mobile users to navigate and read through it.
You can imagine being in a rush to purchase on a website but the purchase button is too small to see. Worse, you can't complete the purchase on your mobile. You wouldn't want that and neither would your visitors.
I mean who wants a challenge when they're unlimited options that are ten times better? In this case, no one is willing to spend their time struggling to work through your website when they can find better websites out there.
To avoid losing potential clients and sales in general, optimize your website by adjusting it to make it mobile-friendly.
#2 Hidden Navigation
Navigation buttons are commonly found on top, on the left side, or at the bottom part of a website page. They are guides that enhance a browser's experience by making it easy to move to different pages within a website.
A hidden navigation button is another major cause of usability issues. If a visitor clicks on your website but cannot find their way around it, they are more likely to leave. This contributes to a high bounce rate which leads to a low ranking on search engines.
When Google notices that people don't spend much time on your website they'll deem it unworthy of the public eye and lower its organic ranking on result pages.
Keeping a navigation menu visible on your website will improve your user's experience and encourage more visits.
#3 Using The Wrong Colors
The first thing people will notice when they visit your website is the color theme. Colors give life and an identity to your website.
Bright colors such as pink and yellow are considered fun and lively. At the same time, colors such as black are associated with luxury.
Therefore when choosing a color for your website design, opt for two to three neutral colors that match your brand. Colors that are not related to your brand may send the wrong message to your visitors.
Also using too many colors can make your website look unprofessional and disorganized.
As they say, what the eyes can't admire the heart can't desire.
#4 Unclear Call To Action
A call to action (CTA) is a short message usually in the form of a clickable button that guides your website visitors on what action to take on your website.
An example of a call to action is “Learn More”, however, such a generic CTA is not clear on what a user needs to “learn more” about making it hard for people to click on it.
On the other hand, something like “learn more about trees” is a valid and great call to action with a high chance of converting
Generic terms for your CTA do not provide your visitors with a clear action to take. Use a specific CTA instead that will encourage them to click and convert in return.
#5 Slow Loading Speed
This is the worst mistake you can make on your website structure design. A slow website deters people from spending more time on it.
When people visit your website they expect it to load in seconds so the minute they experience a slight delay they'll leave for the next one. If this continues with time, you'll lose potential clients and the credibility of your website.
The good thing is you can fix it.
By using a web analysis tool such as the Legiit dashboard you can check the speed of your website.
Most of the time a slow website is caused by a low-quality web host, one that you have to share with other websites, a poor server location, or too many ads and bulky images and videos.
The dashboard points out the cause of your slow speed ànd provides suggestions on how to fix it. This way you'll get your website on track and at a fair price.
SEO Pitfalls
#1 Excessive ads
Ads are great to promote your business and sometimes generate revenue but too many of them, especially pop-ups will make users leave your website regardless of the quality of the content on it.
This leads to an increased bounce rate which is interpreted as unhelpful by Google and causes it to rank lower on SERPs reducing the amount of traffic on your website.
Also, too many ads can slow down the loading speed of your page and cause a similar problem of a high bounce rate.
Minimize the number of ads on your website to make your user's experience better which will in turn improve your rankings on search engines by increasing traffic on your website.
#2 Keyword stuffing
Overloading your page with keywords might seem like a great way to rank organically on Google but it causes more harm than good.
Google considers it a manipulative tactic to rank on search engine result pages.
As punishment, google will lower your organic rankings leading to a decrease in your website traffic.
In worse cases, Google can penalize your website by permanently removing it from search engines.
The right amount of keywords to use as advised is one to four keywords per page per topic.
#3 Low quality content
Google prioritizes its users more than website owners. It values content that is helpful and provides answers to its readers.
Low-quality content as identified by Google can have either or all of the following:
- Grammatical error
- Low word count
- Plagiarism
- Toxic links
- Shallow content with no value.
If you are guilty of this your aim should always be to create content that stays on topic and provides details in depth.
Ensure it is well-written and unique and follows Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness) rules. You can use tools such as Grammarly to edit your work or hire experts to do it for you.
This will not only keep your audience engaged but will also build trust and authority for your website.
As for Google, the more you provide quality content the more chances you'll get to rank organically on SERPs.
#4. Keyword Cannibalization
Relying solely on keyword optimization to rank on search engines results in keyword cannibalization where the same keyword is used on different pages of a website. This makes them compete for Google's attention to rank on the same keyword.
You would think that this method increases the chances of ranking organically but it does the opposite.
Search engines find it difficult to decide which page is the most relevant to rank in which case your posts end up ranking lower.
To avoid this, pick a keyword for each page and use it sparingly within each post.
As Google crawls to index your work, it will be easier to distinguish which page deserves to rank for which keyword.
Final Thoughts
Making mistakes as a new website owner is understandable. Especially if you're doing it all by yourself.
It might cost you more money and time but it's a learning process that no one will criticize you for but adapting and learning fast will put you at a greater advantage.
Hiring an expert to help you in the process is also an option.
Remember that the big will no longer be at the small but the fast will.
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