How Can I Improve My Site Accessibility and SEO?
While site accessibility and SEO are complex topics, Website Services offers tools to identify common issues on your website. In this article, you will learn how to access the Site Improvement Panel and see how to fix some of the more common issues.
Accessing the Site Improvements Panel
Whenever you publish changes to your site, the site editor will prompt you to review possible improvements. You can also access the improvement panel from the Actions menu, under Site Improvement in the right toolbar.
Common Issues
The following is a list of common issues reported through the Site Improvement panel of your site editor.
Missing Title
This issue is reported when a page on your site doesn’t have a level 1 title. A level 1 title is the most important title of a page — it tells users what the page is about. Missing a level 1 title can make it difficult for users to understand the topic of your page, especially if they visit the site from a link.
Level 1 titles also help search engines understand the topic of your page, which can help to improve ranking for related keywords.
If you are missing a level 1 title, consider adding a title block near the top of your page. Make sure that you select Title 1 in the Heading Level dropdown at the left of the toolbar.
Incorrect Heading Level
This issue is reported when a page on your side skips title levels. For example, this can happen if a Title 2 is followed by a Title 4.
Title levels help structure your page, which helps users understand your content better. Therefore, it is recommended to use title levels that are consistent in a page, and to avoid skipping levels as this can be confusing for users.
To correct this issue, make sure that your titles follow a logical order, and separate content of the same level of importance.
No Content for Page
This issue is reported when a page lacks text content (titles or paragraphs). Text content is an important source of information for users with visual impairment. With only visual content, those users may be unable to use your page.
Text content is also easier for search engines to understand, and therefore it can help your SEO.
To correct this issue, either add text content to the page or consider removing the page altogether.
Missing Favicon
This issue is reported when your website favicon is not configured. A favicon is a small icon that gives your website personality and helps users recognize your website.
They are visible in your browser, in search results, and other places. For example, here is the Houzz favicon displayed in different settings.
To correct this issue, consider adding a favicon to your website.
Avoid Project Popover
This issue is reported when you have a project content in a page but the setting is Popover rather than separated pages.
Separate pages are preferred, because they can be indexed by search engines and users can share a direct link to them. This is better for SEO.
Learn More
Accessibility and SEO are broad topics. While Website Services strives to provide a quality experience by default, gaining additional understanding can help make your website more accessible and more successful.
The following is a non-comprehensive list of material you can consult. Please note that those sites are not related to Houzz, and Houzz does not endorse any specific information from these websites.
Accessibility
- The WCAG standard is an international standard for accessibility best practices. Some countries and regions use this standard as the basis for their legislation on accessibility. In particular, the WCAG perspective video series is helpful to understand how different users experience websites.
- The Easy Checks website can help you understand if your website meets basic accessibility requirements.
- Get familiar with the legal requirements for accessibility in your country.
SEO
- Google’s documentation can help you understand how SEO works at a high level, and offers a basic checklist to help get your website in the search results.
- Bing’s webmasters guideline includes more detailed information on the do’s and don’ts of SEO.
- The Search Engine Journal provides news on SEO and digital marketing.