Over-optimisation is killing the way we create, experience, and interact with websites. We’ve been through the era of internet experts telling us to optimise our websites to death and it’s beginning to feel a little tired.
It’s safe to say that Google has made an industry out of website owners vying for the top spot in their search engine results Pages (SERPs) – prioritising things like website speed, relevance, and ultimately, search engine optimisation SEO). But has it gone too far?
We think so.
The drive to keep over-optimising websites has almost taken over the design and content elements. So much so, there’s now a plethora of paid plugins, optimisation tools and online testing tools (not forgetting the service providers out there!). Not only is it overwhelming, but it makes it seem that the actual content is no longer important!
In this article, we’re going to dive into the depths of why the industry has gone too far and exactly what you should be focusing on instead.
Over-Optimisation and What it Really Means
So what exactly do we mean about over-optimisation and can it really happen? Each time Google Search releases its next update, there’s often a change in how sites will be ranked and more importantly – how they might be penalised. Meaning, we are starting to see the decline of websites that are over-optimised for the sake of generating traffic without providing any real value (or relevance) to readers.
There’s become such a focus on website speed and performance optimisation. Gurus are pushing the need to have quick, responsive websites so as not to lose users who aren’t willing to wait for content to load. And while they may have a point (who wants to wait for a million graphics and ads to do their thing!?), should it really take away from the information the user is seeking?
The desire for a super-fast website – defined as under 3 seconds – has led us to focus on over-optimising websites to death.
Has the Obsession with Website Speed Gone too Far?
When you want to create a great website full of interesting, informative, educational, or entertaining content, of course you want it to be user-friendly. But there’s a huge difference between creating an easy-to-use website your audience will enjoy coming back to and over-optimisation.
So what options in the website speed and performance optimisation market do we have here?
Just a few options include;
- Compress image sizes to reduce load times
- Choose different image formats for easier compression
- Enable browser caching to reduce load time
- Enable server-side caching to store pre-rendered page elements for faster load times
- Add lazy-load imagery below the fold
- Optimise code specifically with CSS and JavaScript files to increase speed
- Regularly review and update website content and code to keep up with SEO
- Utilise Google PageSpeed Insights to review performance
And these are just some of the things recommended online. So when you’re focusing purely on website speed, will there be enough time, money, energy, and creativity to drive into design and content?
Are We Enabling An Already Over-Stimulated Audience?
Although we really want to bring you back to the idea of design and content quality being the most relevant thing to your audience, it’s hard not to acknowledge the way over-optimisation is just enabling us as a society.
We all know that some sites are just in it for the clicks, but what about the way we encourage society as a whole to consume? It shouldn’t just be about aiming for clicks, encouraging quick scrolling through pages, and promoting the dopamine hit. What happened to adding meaning and value to what we create online?
There’s certainly a case here for bringing back quality content, education, research, insight, entertainment, and original thought in what we create online.
When Did We Forget About Design?
Do we still look at design as a way to enhance the way a visitor sees our site? Are we still as focused on the look and creativity of web design? Or are we only focused on how well it performs, bounce rates, and user experience (UX)?
While UX is certainly important to make sure your viewers are able to get the information they came for, the way the site is designed so that they can consume the information they need is surely the key here?
Incredible Content > Over-Optimisation
It seems that, in getting lost in the process of over-optimising websites, we forget about creating quality content that enriches people’s lives.
Yes, your website may be fast – but are people actually hanging around to read what you have to say? Do they trust you? Is your content allowing your brand to become an authority?
Fluffy content. Pages overstuffed with very obvious keywords. Irrelevant information that doesn’t always make sense. We’ve seen it all.
But in a world where we have access to so much choice at the click of a finger, shouldn’t we focus on providing the best possible content that draws in an audience? Shouldn’t we want to beat out the rest by providing more high-value content?
We think so.
Where We Should Really Be Spending Our Money
Rather than ploughing endless amounts of money into over-optimising websites with paid plugins, tools, and expert services, maybe we need to rethink where we invest?
Design and great content should be at the heart of what we’re trying to achieve here. There’s a wealth of incredible (and huge!) companies online that have really good content and products online – but their websites aren’t the fastest. And they’re certainly not extensively optimised. Should we take a leaf from their book?
Maybe where we really need to be spending our money here is on better design and content overall. From hiring a great designer to taking a writing course or improving our knowledge of creating better content to adding more value what what we produce to providing a better quality of service to our customers and reader or even investing in better customer and audience researching – there’s so much we can invest in to create an incredible site that goes beyond optimisation.
So is it time we forget about website speed, performance, and over-optimisation once and for all?