Definition
A website can be defined as a set of web pages linked together by hypertext links, accessible through the Internet network using a web address (url) from the same domain name. The term website is sometimes used, which is equivalent (the Internet is the network that supports the web, but the nuance is not of fundamental importance in this case).
What is a web page?
A web page is a computer resource accessible by the Internet and readable by a web browser (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer…). In general, when we talk about a web page, we think of an html document containing texts, images, videos or any other type of resources. However, a simple image with an url (therefore accessible via the Internet) can be considered by extension as a web page.
How are web pages linked to make up a website?
The web is based above all on the link between several pages which make references to each other. This is called hypertext links (or hyperlinks). These links can be found in navigation menus or in the body of web pages. It is possible to make links between pages of the same website in the same way that we can point these links to web pages belonging to other websites. We speak in one case of internal links, in the other of external links (also called backlink in the field of SEO).
The different types of websites
A website can be of various kinds. We can cite:
- E-commerce or online store sites, the objective of which is online sales.
- The showcase websites, which can for example be used to present an organization or promote a brand.
- The Extranets, which aims to share data between multiple remote individuals (Intranet is not accessible through the Internet, we can not include it in the category of websites).
- Social media, supporting the creation of social networks.
- The institutional sites, which Present an organization and its values, through a description of its business, its key figures and information essential to the target audience.
- The portal sites, which provide messaging services, news ….
- Personal sites, created for the benefit of individuals, who wish to share their passion for a specific subject online.
This list is not exhaustive.
What is the use of a website?
In the past, the internet was on the top of the most used tools in the world, connecting the majority of Internet users all around the world, far exceeding traditional media such as television. When an Internet user lands on a website, it is by what he seeks to satisfy a desire for sharing, communication, fun or to answer questions in different fields.
A web page contains information that makes it possible to communicate and share resources with people who are connected to the internet and this all over the world. Professionals create websites to make themselves known to the general public and integrate it as an essential step in the implementation of its commercial strategy, a very effective way which aims to develop their reputation and notoriety on the web, through the use of the website as a medium for disseminating information and advertising.
For a professional, the website is an advantageous communication medium which has in itself a double interest, to make itself known to potential customers and to carry out targeted marketing at a lower cost through the implementation of a brand promotion strategy to assert its presence on the internet.
How to make a website?
There are dozens of ways to make a website. In the early days of the web, making a website consisted of storing files (html, images, etc.) on a web server and making them accessible through the Internet. In the jargon of the trade, sites produced by direct intervention on these files are called “hard-coded” sites.
Main disadvantages: These sites are extremely difficult to maintain and require programming or web development skills to be made. There are today systems similar to frameworks that allow, depending on the destination of the site, to provide pre-established outlines to create more maintainable sites faster and of better quality. This is for example the case of CMS, which offers a simplified management interface to create your own website without any special technical knowledge.
Read also: How to Create a Website? Our 8 Tips
How to properly structure your website for SEO?
Owning a website is a need that is becoming more and more essential in all sectors. It remains a great way to promote your products and services, whatever your area of expertise, and to make yourself known by your business environment. Note, however, that achieving great statistics is not enough just to have a website. It is also necessary to ensure that it has an excellent SEO architecture to better position itself in search engines like Google. Here are some rules and tips to follow in order to get there.
Choose relevant keywords
If you are wondering how to properly structure your website for SEO, then know that the step of choosing keywords should not be taken lightly. Indeed, to rank the results of a user’s search, Google generally uses these terms.
Remember that your site is made up of several internet pages. And, in fact, each page does not necessarily cover subjects of the same category. Once you add content to it, the page must therefore be perfectly optimized so that each user can access it in search engines, especially Google.
You must also work on the links of your pages to improve their natural referencing in the SERP. When Internet users search online against a given category, a web page whose URL contains the corresponding keywords will gain more in terms of SEO. However, you should always make sure that you select relevant keywords for your site .
You should also define the hierarchy of the content that you want to make visible to cybernauts for SEO. Only by doing this could you effectively improve your website tree structure and position your links in the top results, regardless of the categories they cover.
Opt for the pyramid structure to improve the architecture of your platform
Apart from the keywords, we advise you, for an excellent SEO architecture of your sites on search engines like Google, to opt for a pyramid structure. The idea is to break down your website into several levels of content to optimize its tree structure and make it easier for Internet users to understand.
To this end, build the backbone of your platform by setting up a home page. It must be at the very top of the hierarchy (its level of SEO requirement must be very high), and present itself as the site’s gateway to search engines, especially Google. Moreover, the suitability of its content for SEO, the use of keywords, and its presentation must be flawless. This level of requirement is justified by the fact that this page must attract a large number of users to the other pages of the site, whatever the categories they deal with.
It is true that the home page serves as a channel to increase the number of visitors who land on the site. However, the fact remains that other pages should also benefit from excellent optimization. You must subdivide and structure them in such a way as to offer a unique user experience to the readers of your content (text, articles, images, etc.). The tags (title, meta, etc.) must also be of excellent quality to allow an understanding of the content that you share on your site.
Creating multiple pages improves the backbone of your website. In addition, it facilitates the navigation of robots during the crawl, and that of users.
Provide your website with a simple, clear and precise navigation menu
A website which wants to obtain a good tree structure and a quality architecture must have visible links which allow Internet users to navigate very smoothly and easily. In other words, you must optimize every link, or URL of your pages so that any user who visits your site can access them easily.
In order to achieve this very important goal for SEO, the ideal option is to create a navigation menu whose content is understandable and broken down into categories. Normally, a few clicks should allow Internet users to find the links and information they are looking for on the internet, especially on Google, and to become familiar with what you offer as content on your site.
To improve the architecture and structure of your sites, this menu must be simple, clear and precise. Although it is possible to add special effects to the navigation menu, we advise you to opt for simplicity. The idea is to offer maximum comfort to the user when browsing your site.
Provide your links with a structure that indicates the context
In terms of SEO architecture and tree structure, the structure of the URL is also an important point to take into account. In this regard, to optimize your natural referencing on Google, you must properly edit the links of your sites. Be sure to include the main keyword that describes the content (articles, text, images, etc.) of the page to which they link.
Indeed, on the Internet, the links of the sites, whatever the category which they approach, allow the search engines, in particular Google, to improve the referencing SEO in the pages of results.
For example, when you use a link with the structure “www.mysite.com/bob-jaune-coton”, search engines will have trouble understanding the context of your page, and placing you in the responses to queries. This risks damaging the natural referencing potential of your site.
On the other hand, suppose that you have a URL which contains a keyword, and which has the structure ” www.mysite.com/accessoires/chapeaux/bob-jaune”. In this case, search engines like Google, for example, can easily rank you in the results since they know that you are dealing with content related to hats. With this type of link, you improve the natural referencing for your site.
Appropriately use taxonomies for a quality architecture of your website
Taxonomies are essential tools for building a quality tree structure and architecture for your website and its content. It should be noted that these are groups of content, but with the appropriate keywords. They are often declined in categories and labels, which offers you, moreover, the advantage of creating sub-categories, very useful to improve the structure of a website.
On the other hand, taxonomies are proving to be very important, especially in the field of the sale of articles. Indeed, in such contexts, Internet users will tend to browse the links of all the products of the same category before making a choice. So that they can get there easily, you must therefore guide them using “tags” (here, taxonomies). This is a term widely used among WordPress site developers.
Focus on internal networking to properly structure your website
Internal networking is also an excellent idea for optimizing the architecture of your websites . Indeed, apart from the fact that they allow users to access your content, URLs also play a decisive role in optimizing the tree structure of a website for SEO.
Indeed, a URL allows, also, to link page, content, and information between them. This is called the internal mesh. This is notably a process that offers you the advantage of creating a link between different pages from the same site.
This SEO strategy tells search engines, like Google, that the subject of the page linked by an anchor (usually the main keyword of the linked page) is additional information to the reader. It is also a perfect technique to share the audience of a page with the others available, and to strengthen the SEO potential of your site.
READ ALSO: UX DESIGN: HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE ?
