Running a website is a big responsibility. If the Page stops working, it can have serious consequences-both on visitor traffic and revenue. Visitors are relatively forgiving in this regard, as there are so many other websites to choose from, just a few clicks away, and they have already found the information or product they are looking for on another website.
However, there is another kind of visitor who is far from being so forgiving and has a much better memory than a human. This is none other than Google. For the world’s largest search engine, it is extremely important to deliver relevant, useful, and satisfying results to its users. If, on the other hand, a website does not work after Google sends visitors from the results page (SERP) that reflects badly on the search engine itself. And even he cannot afford this in a competitive environment like the internet.
The result will be that Google will punish you. The greater the downtime, the greater the penalty. A few days out of time is not a big problem in itself, as it is human to make mistakes, and when the page restarts, Google will immediately see that there was only a minor problem in the background, but it has already been solved – so it sends more and more traffic to the page over a few days, and then the old order will be restored within 2-3 weeks.
However, if the outage is greater, Google will not be so forgiving either. That’s why the last thing a website owner wants to see is this:
Marketing miscalculations and potential threats can do even more harm in a risky operation like a website redesign. Leaving the design of a website to the wrong professionals can have very serious consequences even in the short term.
Here are the 3 most common search engine optimization miscalculations that can nullify traffic when redesigning a website.
The 3 most common SEO miscalculations 2022 when redesigning a website
- The slow speed of the website.
Website speed is the most essential technical SEO factor. SEO means Search Engine Optimization-one of the most important parts of online marketing, during which we make changes on the websites, thanks to which they can get ahead in the Google search results list for certain terms and keywords. In addition, website speed is one of the features that have an incredibly strong influence not only on search engines but also on the users themselves, as each second increases the chance of a rebound and significantly reduces page conversion.
To solve this problem, in most cases, nothing more is needed than two important adjustments:
On the one hand, it is worth installing a hosting exchange if our hosting provider is slow
On the other hand, it is important that the code behind the Website is structured correctly and does not take up too much space.
2. Lack of SSL certificate
Initially, only Chrome, but now almost all browsers warn when a web page is not secure that is, communication through an unencrypted channel.
This is exactly what SSL means:
- The website handles the data
- However, the data undergoes encryption
- This way we can use the website – including payment on the website – safely
In addition, search engines place pages with SSL higher in the search results list. Sooner or later, all pages will have to switch to encryption or HTTPS (instead of HTTP), if they do not want to lag behind their competitors. So one of the biggest mistakes that can happen when redesigning a website is to miss this small change. There is probably no better way to get SSL than pre-scheduled website maintenance.
3. Improper use of redirects
When rebuilding a website, things can go wrong in a lot of places, especially if that Page has hundreds or even thousands of unique subpages, category pages, or product pages.
In order not to lose traffic, each old sub-page must be redirected to the appropriate new version. However, you do not need to restructure your website to use redirects, as Zombie pages (subpages that do not receive any visitor traffic at all) should be redirected regularly and permanently.
Summary
A website is one of the most important assets of a company, especially if the company does not have any physical business besides online availability. That is why the site must work properly, every single minute. Redesigning and redesigning the website can be a lot of mistakes, but at the same time, this is the best time to renew the old, outdated elements of the site.
The lack of an SSL certificate, the slowness of the website, or the incorrect use of redirects are all errors that can be easily corrected with a little care and professional help-otherwise they can cause great damage.
If you are looking for an expert, reliable team, we have a good tip for you!