14 February 2007

A large number of websites are designed with aesthetic appeal in mind but are "useless" because of poor accessibility or search engine performance, according to an expert.

Matt Paines, a search engine optimisation (SEO) specialist, branded the creation of some websites as "ridiculous", as they fail to support the organisations' business functions.

"It's like building a car and not putting the engine in ... it's a fundamental problem but the point is that building search engine friendly or accessible websites is not complicated," he told Creative Match.

The expert added that a recent workshop uncovered websites which were aesthetically "stunning", but would need to be entirely rebuilt as their functionality was not fit for purpose.

Search engine specialist Kimberley Krause Berg wrote last year in WebProNews that accessibility improvements could lead to enhanced SEO performance, resulting in a "soar" in sales for e-commerce organisations.

© Adfero Ltd

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