Coders Cult Web Development Blog

Web designers and developers often take search engine optimization for granted thinking that it is something that can be done later. While that is true, I would still say that things will be a lot easier and better if search engine optimization is already incorporated into the architecture of a website before it is even created.

As a quick and easy to follow guide, here are a few things that web designers have to do when creating website.

• Don’t forget to put something descriptive in the Title Tag
• Use the H1 tag for the heading instead of just increasing the font size of your heading text. The content between the H1 tag is a huge factor in SEO. Remember though to use the H1 tag only once!
• Use H2 and H3 tags for subheadings. That’s what they’re meant for. Again, don’t just change font-sizes. Use the header tags accordingly. As opposed to the H1 tag, you can use H2 and H3 tags as often as you want.
• Make use of the “alt” attribute in images. The main purpose of the “alt” attribute in images is for usability. Some users just choose to browse with images turned off. The “alt” attribute gives them an idea of what the image is about. On the other hand, search engines also give credit to the value of the alt attribute so make good use of it.
• Avoid Javascript and Flash in navigation. Search engines like HTML and plain TEXT. That’s it. So if you rely on some fancy javascript or flash for your navigation then you’re doing it wrong. Use ordinary HTML links for navigation as much as possible. You can use CSS to achieve most of the fancy effects you want anyway.
• Don’t use images for paragraphs of text. I know this is absurd but I’ve seen many websites who use images to display paragraphs of text. While people can read it, the search engines can’t. Use plain text for text content… makes sense?
• Comply with the W3C standards. It’s not just for browser compliance. It’s also for the search engines. You can validate your HTML and CSS code at http://validator.w3.org/

I’m sure I missed a few things but the list above should you get started.