Google’s algorithm updates have long been a source of anxiety and excitement for businesses, web designers, and digital marketers. With over 90% of global search engine market share, any changes made by Google can significantly affect how websites rank, what they look like, and how they function. The interplay between Google’s algorithm updates and web design is critical because, while these updates primarily target SEO practices, they also influence the way websites are built, structured, and optimised for user experience.

In this blog post, we’ll delve into how Google’s algorithm updates affect web design, the key design elements that need to be considered, and what you can do to ensure your website is both user- and search engine-friendly in the face of these updates.

1. Mobile-First Indexing: The Shift to Mobile-Optimised Websites

What It Is:
One of the most significant changes in recent years has been Google’s mobile-first indexing approach. As mobile usage continues to grow globally, Google has begun prioritising the mobile version of a website when determining its ranking. This means that your website’s mobile version is now considered the primary version, and its performance will have the greatest impact on your rankings.

How It Affects Web Design:

• Responsive Design: Your website must adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes, including mobile phones and tablets. A responsive design ensures that your website functions optimally, regardless of the device a user is on. Google values this design choice because it provides an excellent user experience, which is key to both ranking and retention.
• Fast Mobile Performance: Websites that load slowly on mobile devices risk losing ranking positions. Google’s algorithm now gives preference to mobile-friendly websites that load quickly, so ensuring your mobile site is lightweight and optimised for speed is essential.

What You Can Do:

• Test your website’s mobile usability regularly using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.
• Focus on mobile-first design principles, ensuring that your mobile site offers all the functionality, speed, and visual appeal that users expect.
• Compress images, reduce unnecessary code, and optimise performance to keep mobile load times fast.

2. Core Web Vitals: User Experience (UX) Becomes a Ranking Factor

What It Is:
Core Web Vitals are a set of performance metrics introduced by Google to measure the user experience (UX) of a website. These metrics focus on three key aspects:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance (how long it takes for the main content to load).
• First Input Delay (FID): Measures interactivity (how long it takes for the site to respond to user interactions).
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability (how much the page shifts as it loads).

Google’s ranking system now incorporates these metrics, potentially lowering the rankings of websites that provide poor user experiences.

How It Affects Web Design:

• Focus on Speed: LCP is directly impacted by factors like image size, server response times, and client-side rendering. To improve LCP, web designers must ensure that large elements, such as hero images, load promptly.
• Improve Interactivity: FID focuses on how quickly users can interact with your website. To optimise FID, web designers should streamline JavaScript and avoid unnecessary third-party scripts that could delay user interaction.
• Stability of Layout: CLS is concerned with how stable your website’s layout is as it loads. To avoid layout shifts, avoid adding elements like ads or large images that could cause content to move unexpectedly as the page loads.

What You Can Do:

• Focus on reducing the load time for the largest content on your page, like images and videos.
• Minimise third-party scripts and ensure they load asynchronously to avoid delays in interaction.
• Use fixed dimensions for images and videos to ensure that elements don’t shift as the page loads, enhancing the visual stability of your site.

3. BERT and NLP (Natural Language Processing): Content Is Still King

What It Is:
Google’s BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) update is a machine learning algorithm designed to understand search queries more like a human would. BERT uses natural language processing (NLP) to determine the context and intent behind searches, improving the accuracy of results. Google uses NLP to rank content based on how well it answers user queries, making it essential for websites to focus on high-quality content that aligns with users’ needs.

How It Affects Web Design:
While BERT primarily targets the quality of written content, its impact on web design lies in how content is structured and presented:

• Structured Data and Clear Information Hierarchy: To optimise for BERT, web designers must ensure content is well-organised, clearly structured, and easy to read. This includes the use of headings, bullet points, and concise paragraphs that align with user intent.
• Long-Form Authoritative Content: Google prioritises in-depth, valuable content. Web designers must ensure the layout allows for easy consumption of long-form content, with intuitive navigation, internal linking, and calls to action.

What You Can Do:

• Use structured data (schema markup) to help Google understand your content better and potentially earn rich snippets in search results.
• Ensure your content is aligned with user intent and clearly answers questions, with content broken into readable sections.
• Regularly audit your website’s content to ensure it remains relevant and authoritative in your field.

4. The Importance of HTTPS: Security Becomes a Priority

What It Is:
Google has long advocated for secure websites, and it made HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) a ranking signal several years ago. HTTPS ensures that your website has an encrypted connection, protecting user data from being intercepted.

How It Affects Web Design:

• Security and Trust: From a design perspective, HTTPS impacts the credibility of your website. A site without HTTPS may display a “Not Secure” warning in browsers, leading to a lack of trust from users and negatively affecting your conversion rates.
• Visual Indicators: Modern browsers display a padlock icon next to HTTPS websites. This serves as a visual cue to users that your site is secure, which can boost user confidence.

What You Can Do:

• Ensure your website is using HTTPS and that your SSL certificate is up to date.
• Regularly monitor your website for any mixed-content issues (where secure and non-secure elements appear together on a page) and resolve them to maintain full security.

5. Page Experience Update: The Integration of UX and SEO

What It Is:
In 2021, Google introduced the Page Experience update, which takes into account the overall user experience when determining rankings. This update is closely tied to Core Web Vitals but goes beyond performance, also considering factors such as mobile-friendliness, safe browsing, and the absence of intrusive interstitials.

How It Affects Web Design:

• Mobile friendliness: Websites must be fully optimised for mobile devices, ensuring smooth navigation and functionality.
• Avoid Intrusive Ads: We penalise websites with interstitials (pop-up ads) that interfere with content. Good web design avoids intrusive pop-ups and instead focuses on seamless experiences.

What You Can Do:

• Make sure your website meets all the requirements of Google’s Core Web Vitals and Page Experience update.
• Avoid using pop-ups that cover content and ensure that any ads or promotions are non-intrusive.

Conclusion: Designing for the Future with Google’s Algorithm Updates

Google’s algorithm updates have a direct impact on web design, and staying ahead of these changes is crucial for businesses looking to maintain a competitive edge. By focusing on mobile-first design, user experience, speed, and security, web designers can create sites that not only rank well but also provide a seamless experience for users. Regularly updating your web design in line with Google’s algorithm updates ensures that your site remains relevant, secure, and effective at achieving your business goals. Web design is no longer just about aesthetics; it’s about creating a website that works perfectly for both users and search engines. With Google’s focus on user experience, the future of web design will continue to revolve around making websites that are fast, responsive, and easy to navigate, all while providing content that genuinely meets users’ needs.