Understanding the Most Common Website Errors and Their Risks
Website errors can pose significant risks to your online presence if not addressed promptly. In this post, we will explore the most common website errors and their risks, so you can understand why they occur and how to avoid them. So, whether you're a business owner or a web designer, keep these in mind to ensure your site runs smoothly!
Site is not ADA compliant
Explained: ADA website compliance refers to adherence to the standards set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States to ensure that websites are accessible to people with disabilities. The ADA requires that all electronic and information technology (including websites) must be accessible to people with disabilities, such as those who are blind, deaf, or have mobility impairments.
Risk: If your website fails to meet ADA standards, you risk lawsuits and hefty fines as this is a requirement in the US.
Images on this site have no ALT text
Explained: ALT text (alternative text) is a description of an image that appears in place of the image if it fails to load or if a user is unable to see the image due to a visual impairment or other disability. Adding ALT text to images on your website is an important accessibility feature that helps people with visual impairments or other disabilities understand the content of your website. When an image has ALT text, screen readers can read the description of the image aloud to users who are blind or have low vision. This allows them to understand the content of the image and its context within the page.vIn addition to aiding accessibility, ALT text can also help with search engine optimization (SEO) by providing context to search engine crawlers, which can improve the visibility and ranking of your website in search results.
Risk: Without ALT text, individuals may be unable to comprehend the context of images and other visual elements on your site, which can make it difficult for them to navigate or use your website. In addition, not having ALT text on your website can also negatively impact your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Search engine crawlers rely on text to understand the content of a website and its context, including the relevance and purpose of images. Without ALT text, search engines may not be able to index and rank your website as effectively, which can result in lower visibility and traffic to your site.
Pages on this site have no H1 tag
Explained: An H1 tag is a type of HTML tag used to indicate the main heading or title of a page.
Risk: When a page on your website does not have an H1 tag, it means that the main heading or title of the page is not properly identified in the HTML code. This can have a negative impact on the search engine optimization (SEO) of your website, as search engines rely on H1 tags to understand the main topic and purpose of a page. Without an H1 tag, search engines may have difficulty accurately indexing and ranking your page, which can result in lower visibility and traffic to your site. In addition, not having an H1 tag can also make it more difficult for users to understand the content of your page, as they may have difficulty identifying the main heading or topic. This can lead to confusion and frustration, which can result in a negative user experience and lower engagement with your site.
Pages on this site have no meta descriptions
Explained: A meta description is a brief summary of the content of a web page that appears in search engine results below the page title and URL.
Risk: The absence of a meta description can have several implications for a website such as: Lower click-through rate, negative impact on search engine optimization (SEO), and user experience.
Unminified JavaScript and CSS files
Explained: Unminified JavaScript and CSS files are versions of these files that have not been compressed or minimized to reduce their file size. JavaScript and CSS files are used to control the appearance and functionality of a website, and unminified versions of these files typically contain a lot of white space, comments, and other unnecessary characters that make the file larger than it needs to be.
Risk: Unminified JavaScript and CSS files can have several implications for a website, such as: slower page load times, higher bandwidth usage, reduced search engine rankings, and difficulties with troubleshooting and debugging.
Pages have low text/HTML ratio
Explained: The text/HTML ratio is a measure of the amount of visible text on a webpage divided by the total amount of HTML code used to create the webpage. A low text/HTML ratio means that there is a lot of HTML code on the webpage that is not contributing to the visible content.
Risk: This can negatively impact the website's search engine optimization (SEO) and user experience. Having a high text/HTML ratio is generally considered to be better for SEO because search engines like Google prioritize pages with more content that is relevant to the user's search query. Additionally, pages with more text are usually more informative and engaging for users, which can lead to longer dwell times and a better overall user experience.
Pages return 4XX status code
Explained: This means that the server could not find the requested resource, typically due to a broken link or URL, usually its referenced as a “404 Not Found”.
Risk: Users cannot access the website and its resources properly and could ultimately give the impression that your site is poorly managed. Google will also rank sites lower if sites have many error codes like this.
Internal links are broken
Explained: There are hyperlinks on the website that do not lead to valid pages or resources within the same website.
Risk: Broken internal links can negatively affect the user experience and can negatively impact the website's SEO by causing search engines to reduce the website's ranking or crawlability.
Pages have too much text within the title tags
Explained: The HTML code for the title tag contains more than the recommended number of characters or words. The title tag is an HTML element that provides a brief and concise description of the content of a web page, and it is displayed in the search engine results pages (SERPs) as the clickable link to the page. Search engines typically display up to 60 characters of the title tag in their SERPs.
Risk: If the title tag contains too much text, it may be truncated in the search results, making it less effective in attracting clicks from users. Additionally, title tags that are too long can negatively impact the website's SEO by causing search engines to reduce the website's ranking or crawlability.
Links on HTTPS pages leads to HTTP page
Explained: The website is using a mix of secure and non-secure protocols, which can create security risks for the website and its users. HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP that uses encryption to protect data transmitted between the website and the user's browser. When a website uses HTTPS, it means that the data transmitted between the website and the user is encrypted and secure.
Risk: An attacker could intercept the data transmitted between the user and the website and potentially access sensitive information, such as login credentials or payment details. Additionally, search engines such as Google may flag websites that use a mix of secure and non-secure protocols as insecure, which can negatively impact the website's search engine visibility and ranking.
Pages don't have an h1 heading
Explained: The h1 heading is an HTML element that provides the primary heading and title of a page, and it is typically the most important heading on the page.
Risk: This can negatively impact the website's SEO by making it more difficult for search engines to understand the content of the page and rank it for relevant keywords. Additionally, it can make the page less user-friendly and difficult to navigate.
Page has no hreflang and lang attributes
Explained: The website is not properly optimized for multilingual and international audiences.The hreflang attribute is an HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and/or region a page is intended for. This attribute helps search engines show the correct version of a page to users based on their language and location. The lang attribute, on the other hand, specifies the language of the content on the page.
Risk: Without these attributes, search engines may have difficulty understanding which language and region a page is intended for, which can result in incorrect pages being shown to users in search results. This can lead to a poor user experience and decreased engagement with the website.
At Sabal Solutions, we understand the importance of having a functional and secure website. We offer a wide range of web design and development services tailored to meet your unique needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you create a website that stands out in the digital landscape. reading!
You can also subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and insights in the world of web design and development. Thank you for reading!
Comments