All three matter, and they overlap in your code and your pages. Design shows your site, SEO helps people find it, and usability helps them act. We explain each one and how to decide where to start.
What each one means
Design is the code and graphics, written in HTML or PHP, that tell the visitor's browser how to show your website.
SEO is short for search engine optimization. It is how well your website does in search engine results.
Usability is the best path for a visitor to use your website, such as finding your phone number or placing an order in a few clicks.
Why you cannot pick just one
A beautiful site that nobody finds earns nothing. A site that ranks well but confuses visitors loses them in seconds.
A usable site with weak design can look untrustworthy. Visitors judge your business by how your site looks in the first few seconds.
Each one supports the others. Clean design code is easier for search engines to read. Clear pages are easier for visitors to use.
Start with your audience
Decide who you want to reach, such as homeowners in Omaha, and build the site for them.
Large companies spend millions on marketing data to find the biggest group that wants their product. A small business can start with one question: what do my customers ask for most?
Put the answer to that question on your home page. Then check that a visitor can find it in a few seconds.
Ask a few real customers to try your site. Watch where they pause or click the wrong thing. Fix that spot first, because it costs you the most visitors.
A simple order to work in
Use this order when you plan or improve a site.
List what visitors want
Write down the top three things your customers ask for, such as your price, your hours or your phone number.
Make those easy to find
Put them on the first screen. Make the phone number a link that works on a phone.
Build clean pages
Give each page one topic and one main search phrase.
Write a title and description
Each page needs its own title tag and meta description.
Test on a phone
Most visitors use a phone, so check that buttons and text are easy to tap and read.
How we build all three
Our website design service builds all three into every new site. We write clean code that search engines can read, build each page around one main search phrase and keep your contact details easy to find.
We also check each page on a phone before we hand it over. Buttons must be big enough to tap, and text must be easy to read without zooming. Hosting, SSL and daily backups keep the site fast and safe. You can read more about our web hosting.
A new website with up to five pages and a contact page costs $300, and we finish it in 3 to 5 days.
Call us at 402-813-4034 and we will help you decide what your site needs first.
AboutRod and Tami Atwood
Rod and Tami Atwood and other Websnoogie contributors write the Websnoogie blog. Rod has built websites since 2004 and founded Websnoogie, LLC in Omaha in 2012. Tami is co-owner, content editor and billing expert. Call us at 402-813-4034 or write to staff@websnoogie.com.
