Web Design Tips
ShopInBerkeley web pages tend to rank high in seach engine returns. Businesses
may occassionally find that their page on ShopInBerkeley ranks higher
than
their own web site. While there is no absolute way to determine
how high your page will rank for a give search, there are some general
tips I can provide to improve your ranking.
These tips also tend to make your site more navigable to those on all web browsers
(Internet Explorer/Firfox/AOL) and platforms (PC/Mac/Linux). They also make it
accessible to those with vision disabilities who may be using enlarged fonts
or screen readers (that read the words on the page). You probably wouldn't
think of creating an impediment to folks in wheelchairs or those who use a cane
from entering your store, so why place impediments to your web site? (See
High Accessibility
Is Effective Search Engine Optimization for more details on the connections
between these.)
Here's the tips
- Use simple code. Complex coding is often used in
attempt to make the page look "just right." But it often lays out poorly
in various browsers.
- Use heading tags. "H" tags (1, 2, 3) are used to
mark up the important parts of the page. Imagine scanning a newspaper: You
look for the headlines to see which articles are of interest to you. Search
engines and screen readers use "H" tags like you would use headlines. The "H1"
tag should generally only be used once on a page.
- Use CSS to mark up your text. CSS (Cascading Style
Sheets) is used to set the size, font, color, etc. of text. It can also be
used to place these elements on the page. You can use CSS to change the
layout of "H" tags. The "H1" for this page is "Web Design Tips" at the top.
- "Title" lines. Title lines are in the "header" of your
- Never convert text to graphics. This is usually done
on web pages to ensure the words will display in the exact font and layout
desired. The problem it creates is that screen
If your web designer says these tips are not important, or does not want to
implement them, that is her/his choice. But if your rankings aren't that
high, perhaps you need to find another web designer
But, all that being said, remember that your
page will probably never rank high for a general search
such as "books," "beauty salons," etc. You need to depend upon your searcher
being smart enough to search for "books Berkeley", or some other
limiting term.
Check what your web page looks like without your style sheets.
If you have a web site, invest the time to check it with a couple different
web browsers. Your web designer
should be doing this, but
it is up to you to determine if they are doing it.
While an overwhelming majority of people use
Microsoft Internet Explorer®, there are large numbers of people who use
Firefox® and
Opera® on Windows and Mac machines, and
Safari® on Macs.
I would recommend
Firefox® or
Opera®.
Once you have an alternative web browser installed, use these steps to
view your page without styles:
Firefox
- From the menu bar, select "View" then "Text size" to enlarge text to see
what your web site looks like with larger font (shortcut: Ctrl + increases
font, Ctrl - decreases, and Ctrl 0 (zero, not o), reverts to standard size.
- From the menu bar, select "View" then "Page style" then "No style" to
see your page without your styles. This view may look shockingly
plane, but that's how search engines and text readers see it.
Opera
- From the menu bar, select "View" then "Zoom" to enlarge or decrease the font
size. Opera is actually smart enough to enlarge all objects including
images (but most images will become 'pixelated' and grainy). Note you can also
use the Ctrl + and Ctrl - combinations to change size.
- From the menu bar, select "View" then "Style" then "User mode" to
remove custom styles. Opera also provides "Accessibility layout" and other
Style options.
Page last updated June 25, 2006