How UX Functionality of a Website Can Impacts Its SEO & What Elements to Focus on

Have you ever visited a website and found it hard to access the page or information you were looking for? Have you ever visited a website with an unappealing font? Have you ever found information on a webpage scattered around with no proper structure? All these are elements that contribute to how you, as a user, find the browsing experience on a particular website. And if your answer is yes to all the above questions, then you must now understand how User Experience (UX) can affect a user’s perception of a site.

It is not just the user that a bad UX impacts. A bad UX experience one has on a website is duly noted by Google and other search engines, and this can lead to negative effects on ranking and traffic. Therefore, it is safe to say that UX does impact a lot on the SEO aspect of a website.

What are a Site’s Key UX Components?

Several elements on a site add up to how effective and smooth the UX is:

• Page Design: Text format, background design, color palette, videos, and so on are all examples of page design.
• Layout Interface: How the layout structure is organized and how smoothly it behaves with the information flow and user requirements.
• Information Presentation: How the information sections are placed on the site How the content is being laid out
• Usability: The ease of use and navigation for the user indicates the quality of the UX.
• Page Order: There should be connectivity, flow, hierarchy, and consistency in page URLs and links.

How Should You Work on Improving Your Site’s UX?

Text Formatting

Text formatting should be used as such as it provides enhanced readability. Use sub-headings, bulleted lists, numbered lists, block quotes, and formatting features like underlining, italics, and bold wherever these are relevant and after content presentation requirements. Ensure to use the right font type and size that blends well with the background and provides for easy reading and scrolling through the content.

Images and graphics

Use formats for images that search engines can easily index, which include JPEG, PNG, or GIF, as well as WebP. Use images in a compressed size so that they load quickly. Use the responsive images feature for different device accessibility. Use clear illustrations, proper alt text, and image captions, and do not use copyrighted images.

Above the Fold

This is the first thing noticed by the visitor. Use compelling elements such as the website name and logo, a headline, CTA buttons, a visually appealing graphic, and an easy-to-navigate main menu.

Work on Your Header & Footer

These should be easy on the eyes. The header should contain aspects including a search bar, site navigation, account sign-in options, and all the main links to provide ease of finding important information. Similarly, your footer should include all of the useful information. Ideally, the size of the header and footer is one-sixth of the page size.

Navigation Menu

This is the place that will direct your site visitors to move through and find links on the site. Use 5 to 8 links on it, and it should include service and product page links. Other elements can be a blog, a shopping cart, a sign-in, or a sign-up button. For more and more pages, consider using extended menus organized through categories.

Breadcrumbs

If your site is multi-level, then you need to have breadcrumb navigation in all senses. This can be category-based or location-based. For an effective and enhanced UX, breadcrumb path steps must be clickable. The labels in this must be similar to page names. For long labels, consider using ellipses that make them readable. Collapse mid-step labels so that they fit a long trail in a single row.

Conclusion

Apart from the above elements, there are several other aspects critical to enhancing the UX functionality of a website. These include CTA buttons, language switchers, right and left sidebars, faceted navigation, featured items, social proof components, social share buttons, user input elements, and much more.