Esther C Kane

I make it a point to put on my contract a statement about the fact that the website MAY be altered, aesthetically speaking, in the process of it’s optimization.  I ask the client to initial that they read that statement.

Yet (you know it’s coming!)

I still get phone calls and emails AFTER I’ve worked on the website from the client who informs me that he/she was not aware the look of the site would change and why did I change it and how can we keep the old style and why does it have to be changed and why can’t we keep all 52 photos on one page and why can’t we keep the pages with just one line of text and so on!

So, I thought I would take some time to explain what the reason is for altering the aesthetics of a website in order to get it ready for the search engines.

1) Coding – this is the number one reason many website designs end up being altered, the coding on the initial site is not well suited for the search engines.  I’m talking about Java Script, use of tables, use of <font> tags and inappropriate use of <b> and/or <strong> tags.  I’m talking about websites with tables inside of tables, inside of tables, etc.  All that excess coding is old and cumbersome.  Clean it up for the search engines and you’ll have a better chance of ranking higher in the engines.

2) Architecture – where the website files sit in the website is important.  Websites should be broken down like a department store.  Think about it, when you walk into Macy’s (or any other department store) there are multiple “stores” inside of that store.  There’s the lingerie department, the household goods department, the men’s department, the children’s department, etc.  Websites are the same.

If your website is about your law practice, then you need to divide the website into the multiple departments (services) that you provide.  So, you may have a section about real estate law, another about divorce, another about personal injury.  Then within each of these sections you would have pages about the different services you can provide related to those sections.  Something like follows…

Real Estate Law
a) foreclosures
b) landlord problems / tenant problems
c) evictions

Divorce
a) child custody issues
b) alimony issues
c) men’s rights

Personal Injury
a) motorcycle accidents
b) workplace accidents
c) workers compensation rights

By creating “departments” within your website and then filling the departments with the appropriate information for each department, you’re basically letting the search engines know that your site is not only structured, but it’s organized and provides appropriate data.

3) Usability – too many website owners get stuck in the concept that they must have that specific color blue or that they need 3 columns or that certain text has to be in certain places.  The truth of the matter is, website design is often dictated by the actions of the users.  In other words, if the website has 3 columns and the exit rate from this page is 90% and length of time spent on the page is less than 2 seconds – then something may be wrong with the design of the page.  Why do so many only stay 2 seconds on the page and then leave?  Is the information difficult to read?  Is there no call to action?  Does the information not match with the keyword phrases for the page?  All these issues have to be found out and the only way to do that is to analyze the monthly statistics and make changes and then test the pages.  Repeat this process over and over and eventually, you’ll be able to reduce the exit rates and increase the length of time spent on the page.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is don’t get stuck on the aesthetics of the site.  Beautiful websites are hard to create but really, no matter how beautiful you may think a website is, if it doesn’t bring money in to the business, what’s the point?  You can hire the most beautiful secretary for your company, but if she can’t type or answer the phone, then what’s the point?