Web design: Glasgow needs to know you exist

The best design is about the look of a page, of course it is.  Web design is an art.  However, it is also a science.  The usability of the site and utility of the design is more important than whether the users smile at the page.  The failure of the page could be guaranteed before a visitor even clicks on the page.  If the content is optimised and the search engines don’t understand the relevance of your site, then the visitor will never know what you have achieved.

So, imagine: You wanted a web designer in Glasgow.  It is likely you will type “web design Glasgow” or “website design Glasgow” or “web designers Glasgow.”  So to help you find the site, these phrases need to appear in the appropriate density in the page.  But, it is not good enough to pack them into a paragraph like this.  Google especially take exception to key word packing.  This is text that is only created so that the site has the key words it needs.

So, good web design needs good copywriting to make sure the site is seen. This means that in web design, Glasgow people need the words to flow into sentences in a way that the reader would never realise that the content has been optimised.  This way the design of the site gets the audience it deserves.

Working hard as web designers Glasgow doesn’t offer much open credit for our craft.  The Scots, especially Glaswegians, are pragmatic and they just want a site that works.  Therefore, for website design Glasgow needs something that works before something has stunning visuals.

This usability goes beyond the relevance of content.  It might be that “web design Glasgow” makes up a 2% density on your site and it you have embedded metadata with these words and phrases too.  However, the load time on your first page is delayed by 3 seconds because the banner component you are so proud of causes lag. Three seconds is nothing and you think this is a suitable compromise for the aesthetic of the page.  Three seconds will be enough time for most of the users to click the back button and use a different site on the list.

This is not an issue for web designers Glasgow. The Financial Times did a survey and found that a 3 second delay, even on a site that most people seek out, caused most users to click away.  It is obviously not just because of the delay on that page.  The user extrapolates, rightly or wrongly, that the experience will be the same throughout the site. A three second delayy each time you scroll, or click or scan with your mouse could become quickly frustrating.  Users have become spoilt by developers who have optimised page loading speeds down to the milliseconds.

So, design, the aesthetic is important. But, it is important to get the functionality right, if you want to be found.