In the world of web design, looks aren’t everything, but they count for a lot. Your website is the first chance to make a good impression; small print and blurry images can turn your next potential clients off, and onto the site of your competitor.
Poor design choices could also hurt your credibility. One study found that when people were asked to explain why they mistrusted a website, 94% of them referenced design elements.
How online users judge your virtual cover is important: but unless your site gets Google-approval, they might not even know you exist. Most of what Google is looking for when it chooses to rank one website over another is beneath the surface. So how do you make sure your web designer’s done your website right? Here are a few FREE take-home tools to check for yourself:
1. Page Speed Testing
Using Google’s Page Speed Insights, you can not only test how fast your website is running, but analyze potential problems and make suggestions for your site’s peak performance. Some things that could affect your page speed insights include videos, large pictures, and inefficiently written HTML (code).
2. Mobile Friendly Testing
Mobile Internet usage is a trend that isn’t going away, and you can’t afford to ignore this point… literally. According to comScore, 51% of Canadians are now browsing the Internet on tablets or cell phones, so not having a website that is responsive in design (meaning, its design adapts to the size of the screen its being viewed on) can lose you half your potential online traffic. In addition, Google will soon be implementing an algorithm that will penalize your site if it isn’t mobile-friendly. Good website designers will start with the mobile version of your site (considered your core functionality) and add on fancy features for desktop versions. Ask them about it! In the meantime, test your site on Google’s Mobile-Friendly test to make sure its adaptable.
3. GZIP compression Testing
Don’t let the terminology scare you. GZIP compression is a form of data compression that takes your HTML and CSS files (in laymen’s terms, the building blocks of your website) and makes them smaller so your website will load faster. Compression can optimize your site on average by 50-70%, so it’s definitely worth doing! Did your developer hook you up with compression? Use Vary.com to find out.
4. General Functionality Testing
Nibbler Silktide has you covered when it comes to pretty much everything else. With a breakdown of categories such as accessibility, compliance, social media, and SEO, Nibbler will give your site a score out of 10 on up to 5 pages. This can actually tell you a lot: but, if you want to test more, no problem. You can upgrade to their sister site, Sitebeam, to get more information.
Still not confident you can do it all yourself? Have a website audit done by an independent firm. Just like a house inspection, this assessment can give you useful information to make informed choices about what’s next for you and your website.
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