Your website is not for Google. It’s for people.
For years we optimised websites for machines: crawlers, Lighthouse scores, plugin checklists. Those things matter, but somewhere along the way we forgot who we are building for.
A user interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it isn’t that good. That line has been in my slides since 2022, and it still gets a laugh, because everyone has used a site that needed a manual.
Navigation is a promise
Your menu tells visitors what they can do here. If it lists your org chart, or hides the important page behind a hamburger on desktop, you have broken that promise before they have read a word. Use the words your customers use, not your internal ones.
Design for the thumb
Most visits are on a phone, often with one hand, often in a hurry. Big enough tap targets, readable text without zooming and no pop-up covering the content. These are the basics, and so many sites still get them wrong.
Content that earns the scroll
People don’t read websites, they scan them. Short headings that say something, one idea per section, and a clear next step at the end. If a paragraph doesn’t help the visitor decide, cut it.
Machine-friendly comes almost for free when you get this right. Fast, clear, well-structured pages are exactly what search engines want too.
