Your Checklist of What to Include in Your Company Website

Your website is your company’s face online, so you should always ensure that it works to enhance and not damage your business’s reputation. Hiring an agency to make a responsive, engaging website for you is one of the quickest ways to boost your search rankings.

Here are a few things that a digital marketing agency or a website design agency should provide for you to optimize your website’s design for Google’s search engine results page.

1. A simple website navigation structure

Some important metrics like page time, bounce, engagement, and conversion rates are affected by a website’s structure. Make it easy for your customers to find information on your website.

Simplify their experience by keeping the main menu simple by limiting the options on it and using familiar terms. Include the main menu in all the pages on your website so that it’s easy to go back to it. Check how your website looks on different platforms and screen sizes, like smaller mobile devices. See to it that the main menu is accessible there.

Furthermore, the URL should also be concise and descriptive, so the user knows where they are headed before the page even loads. Use descriptive anchor text when you are directing the user to internal links on the website. It will help the user find what they are looking for quickly.

2. Engaging 404 Error page designs

The error page is a discouraging sight to users, and they will most likely leave your website if they encounter it. These 404 Error pages pop up for broken links and non-existent or dead pages. Ideally, a website design agency will ensure these pages should not exist, but on the off chance that it does, make it so that users will want to stay despite encountering the error.

First, make sure that your page design is created and attention-grabbing. Emphasize that the user followed a wrong link, or that the page doesn’t exist, and give them the option of searching up what they wanted to look for in the 404 page itself. That allows them to have another shot at looking for the specific content they were trying to find. Encourage users to stay by adding links on the page, which will lead to other relevant pages on your website. 

3. A website that loads faster

The loading speed of your website determines its ranking on the search engine. If it takes more than a second, there are a few ways to adjust it. Your agency should be able to find an appropriate caching solution for your website to avoid latency problems.

They can upgrade your web hosting solution according to the needs of your website and traffic. Another way of making your site faster is by using compressed images so that users can still see the pictures without compromising quality.

You can also minify your CCS and JS files to make the code for your website simpler. Use a CDN that is geographically nearer to you so that the content comes to your website faster. It should minimize HTTP requests and redirect requests to and from your website. 

4. Appropriate images and alt text

The images that a digital marketing agency will place on your website should be compressed, on top of being relevant and interesting to the website. The reduction in file size will make the website faster.

There should also be a moderate number of images, with appropriate and relevant keywords. The search engine won’t be able to understand images, so alt text will come in handy for this instance. It can also help in the instance that the image fails to load. 

5. Strategic use of pop-ups

Being greeted by pop-ups as soon as a user lands on a page is one of the reasons your website could lose credibility. Imagine—they are looking for information but are served ads and pop-ups instead. That could frustrate your visitors, which may cause them to exit immediately.

It can negatively affect your search engine results because it seems like the content on your website is irrelevant to the search query. A website design agency can design exit-intent pop-ups for you so that it’s still possible to promote events without being too intrusive.

Conclusion

These are just a few things to keep in mind when designing a website to stay ahead of other websites. Making the necessary changes will ensure that users stay on your website, find what they need and more, which will boost your website in search engine rankings.

If you’re looking for a knowledgeable partner in crafting your website, get in touch with us at AGUA Agency. We power local businesses in Calgary with focused search and targeted local campaigns, website design and development, and more!