It’s tough to choose a web design company. And most articles about web design and search engine optimization concentrate on content. After all, everyone knows ‘content is king’, and there’s no denying that having unique, well-written content on your website will draw customers and improve your Google PageRank. But if you’re looking for happier customers and even higher traffic to your company website, there’s another part of the equation you need to address. It’s the actual structure of your website and of your web pages.

I’m talking xHTML and information architecture, web standards and semantic markup. 

It may seem a little bit less exciting than writing amazing content, but if you don’t devote the time and energy to a well-structured website you’ll find that your amazing content isn’t getting the exposure it deserves. 

Sometimes, this can make the difference between your company being successful or failing miserably.

The Big Picture

Your overall website structure needs to support and show off your content to its best advantage. What is your website’s goal? Who is your audience? Your website’s macro structure needs to support these goals and take your audience’s needs into account. 

Once you know what you’re trying to do with your site, you need to structure your website so that your customers get to your most important content within a single click. It’s OK if your supporting content requires another couple of clicks to find, but your key content needs to be immediately accessible. if it isn’t, potential customers will go somewhere else.

Think of the classic architectural work of Frank Lloyd Wright. His masterworks flow logically and beautifully from room to room. The understated genius of his work allows you to relax and enjoy your activities within the building. The architecture fades into the background, because it makes so much sense. That feeling of logical flow is exactly what you’re aiming for in your company website, too.

I’m not saying every page of your website needs to look exactly like the others. After all, not every room in a house looks or acts the same- a kitchen is very different from a garage. But you wouldn’t put a country kitchen in a stark modern house.

If you nail your macro structure, you’ll have created  a logical, flowing, and enjoyable experience for your customers. They’ll like that.

Sweat The Small Stuff

Don’t worry, we won’t get bogged down with details about things like web standards and semantic markup in this article. Just think of the micro structure of your website as a newspaper. 

Newspapers have a main headline, followed by a story. They have smaller headlines on the page, too, with their own stories. Often you’ll have a picture or two that support the main story on the front page.  Occasionally you’ll see a short blurb directing you to other sections of the newspaper.

The point is, it’s possible to use things like web standards and semantic markup to create a micro structure that makes sense from a person’s point of view. A website shouldn’t be all gobbledygook under the hood.

It seems logical and simple, but the fact is most websites- including those of many web design companies- do not follow these simple rules. This massively hurts their Google results, and it alienates users. Especially users who may be disabled and using a screen reader or other device to visit websites.

Here’s an easy test anyone can do to see if their website micro structure makes sense: view your webpage with javascript, images, and css turned off. It’s quite a revelation to see your naked content there without any supporting design. It won’t be pretty, but what you see should at least make sense when you read it. if it does, there’s a good chance you’re alright.

Wrap Up

It takes work to create a logical, flowing structure to a website on both a macro and micro level, and it’s not as glamorous as slamming out a pretty Flash animation. But it’s worth it- you’ll make your customers happy, along with Google. 

At PatrickOrtman, Inc. we’ve been advocates of web standards and fans of well-structured web designs for over 15 years. We’ve worked with eight Fortune 500 companies, and designed websites for local companies in Los Angeles and clients throughout California and North America.