Five ways design shapes rankings
| Design area | SEO effect |
|---|---|
| Site structure | Decides which pages exist and how Google finds them |
| Internal links and menus | Show Google which pages matter most |
| Speed | Core Web Vitals feed Google's ranking systems |
| Phone layout | Google indexes the mobile version of each page |
| Content space | Pages need room for real text, not just images |
Design choices that hurt SEO
- Text placed inside images, which Google reads poorly
- Menus built only with scripts instead of real links
- Content hidden behind tabs on phones
- Single-page sites with every service on one page
- Heavy animation that slows the first screen
Google's link guide says it can only follow links built as proper HTML links. Fancy menus built another way can hide whole sections from Google.
Design choices that help
Good example. A plumbing site gives each service its own page and links them from a clear menu. Headings are real text, and pages load in under two seconds.
Bad example. A plumbing site is one long scrolling page with services in image tiles and a menu that only works with JavaScript.
Design and SEO should start together
SEO decisions belong in planning, not after launch. The sitemap, URL structure, headings and content for each page all come from the search terms buyers use. Retrofitting SEO into a finished design costs more and works worse.
Read on-page SEO for a website build. Our web design and SEO teams plan each site together from day one.