As search engine optimization (SEO) changes in 2025, it’s not enough to have a website that looks pretty; it also needs to serve your site’s performance in search engines. An impressive site that hasn’t been optimized for search can quickly get lost among all the others, and searchers will never find it. We’re CitrusStudio, and we believe in helping businesses succeed online through great design and SEO.
Here are seven website design mistakes that many people make, which can harm your SEO — and how to sidestep them.
Neglecting Mobile-First Design
Mobile-first indexing from Google means that the mobile version of your website is used as the basis for search engine rankings. If your site isn’t friendly to smartphones and tablets, your SEO will suffer.
Solution
Build your site with a responsive design, and use a tester to test mobile usability—Google has a good tool for that with its Mobile-Friendly Test.
Slow Loading Speed
Heavy sites (visually) with unoptimized images, scripts, or animations that could potentially load slowly. Search engines and users hate slow sites equally.
Solution
Optimize your images, minify your CSS and JS assets, cache your site, and use fast web hosting.
Missing H1 Tags and Poor Heading Structure
As a search engine, it helps point out your content hierarchy. When you skip H1s or misuse headings, it messes up your SEO.
Solution
Use only one H1 per page and ensure your keyword is included. Maintain a logical heading hierarchy (H2, H3, etc.) for both your reader and SEO.
Lack of Internal Linking
Bad internal linking can impact the distribution of page authority and how users navigate your site, which in turn makes it more difficult for search engines to crawl your site effectively.
Solution
Develop an effective internal linking strategy where you link relevant content to your website.
Ignoring Image Optimization
Unoptimized images will make your site slower, and these are missed opportunities for keyword usage via alt tags.
Solution
Provide descriptive names and alt text that incorporate your keywords. Crank images down for speed, but keep the quality high.
Using Pop-Ups That Disrupt UX
Aggressive pop-ups (interstitials) can irritate users and result in penalties from Google, which are more severe on mobile devices.
Solution
Use pop-ups (but not to the point of abuse) and ensure they’re easy to dismiss. Also, avoid breaking the main content flow.
Not Using Clean, SEO-Friendly URLs
Users and search engines may become confused with complex or generic URLs. PAGE URLs should reflect the PAGE content and keywords.
Solution
Short, descriptive, and keyword-rich URLs are preferred. Do not use numbers or special characters, and separate words with hyphens.
Closing Remarks
A beautiful and functional website design should be SEO-friendly. Learning not to make these mistakes can help improve your site’s search ranking, drive more visitors to your site, and enhance the overall user experience. Here at CitrusStudio, we create websites that are not only visually appealing but also optimized for search engines.
Want help with SEO for your website in 2025?
Reach out today and let the CitrusStudio team help you create a site that works for you.
