Conducting website audits help to identify different types of website errors. Google Search Console is an effective tool to monitor website content and optimise them to fix existing issues. All website pages provide a numerical code that indicates the page status known as HTTP Response Status Code. The website status code can return a wide range of numerical displaying different messages. Successful browser requests will return the numerical code 200. Error 404 is displayed when a webpage is not found. It focuses on all the aspects of website content management to understand how Google views your content and website. It helps to monitor and track AMP pages and provide articulate reports on the websites. Google Search Console supports your website for mobile usability. Most importantly, it alerts and fixes errors on the website.
Digital marketing experts should be aware of common website errors. These types of website errors can be easily fixed using the best website development practices. Monitoring your website’s performance helps in preventing problems. There can be multiple reasons why a website is performing poorly. Some of them include poor conversion rates and non-reliable data.
Common Website Errors
Here is a list of the most common website errors:
- Invalid Coding Errors - Adding functions and features to a website involve a lot of coding. Invalid coding can lead to disruptions in the website, affect proper indexing of the website by search engines and lower website rankings. The incorrect use of Robot.txt, lack of a sitemap file, excessive use of subfolders in URL strings, inaccessible HTTP address and multiple redirects and 404 errors are a result of invalid coding. These can have devastating effects on a website. These are common website errors that are fixable. Some HTTP errors include 401(unauthorized), 403(forbidden), 500(internal server error) and 504(gateway timeout).
- Broken Links - The presence of such links that do not work or are obsolete direct users to error 404 pages. It is one of the most common types of website error that is a case of sheer negligence. Google can easily identify such websites and it reflects poorly when visitors are directed to error pages. This shows that the brand website is not updated, which will eventually affect the search engine rankings. Using the same metadata for all web pages will result in missing out on potential traffic.
- Outdated Website Design - This is another common website error that can drive potential customers away. Websites need to be functional and appealing at the same time to draw traffic. Web design trends change frequently and let’s just say if you are not catching up, your website will end up looking unprofessional. This can actually cause customers to bounce or leave rather than attracting more traffic. Low-resolution images, improper use of subfolders and subdomains, lack of Call-To-Action and using difficult forms are some of the things to avoid if you want to prevent and manage website errors.
Best Ways to Fix Common Website Errors
Here are some of the finest ways to easily fix common website errors for better performance:
- Mobile Responsive Designs - Most business websites today are aware of the competitive marketplace and demanding users. Integrating brand websites with mobile responsive designs is an easy way to maintain a uniform website that is fully optimised for all kinds of devices and platforms. That makes it easier to track data and make track updates.
- Google Search Console - It is an outstanding SEO tool that not only helps to detect 404 errors but also offers meaningful insight into the performance of the website. These errors can be easily detected and fixed by changing the existing and obsolete URLs to 301 redirects. This can successfully distinguish your website from competitors.
- ALT Image Text Tags - Search engines are equipped to crawl text more efficiently than images and there are chances that images with missing ALT texts are totally overlooked. Keyword-rich descriptive metadata should be used to name and define images before uploading them on the website for best results.
- Fix Loading Speed - Users today run low on patience and tend to leave websites if they take too long to load. It is a common website error that is often overlooked while trying to fix other issues. Around 2–5 seconds are considered to be the standard loading time for a webpage. Anything above this can be a problem for the website. Short JavaScript, high-quality images, analysing for common website errors and optimising landing pages for Google AMP are some of the effective ways to increase the website’s loading speed.
Takeaway
Once you find out about the different types of website errors that can affect your brand’s performance, the next step is to fix them without any delay. If driving traffic, generating leads and establishing successful customer relationships is your business goal, then start acting upon it. The best digital marketers are aware of the benefits of proper website design and optimisation. So, manage your website errors more effectively now without the fear of losing leads.