Messy Code Website Problems You Have To Avoid

When a website is built, a lot of code is created. This is especially the case when the website has several features and functions. If the code of the website is messy and organized, issues will appear. The website will not function as it should and you will end up with a bad user experience, which hinders website growth as it affects search engine rankings. If you see the problems below, you can have the best WordPress hosting and still experience huge problems.

Bad Robots.txt Files

The major search engines will use Robots.txt in order to learn more about the site and index pages. Crawlers actively scroll these files so if you incorrectly use them, the information available for the site is limited. This is particularly damaging when a site is recently launched. To make proper use of this option, you absolutely need to remember the following:

• txt has to be located in the site’s main directory.
• The correct spelling for the file is “robots.txt”
• When you use subdomains, every one needs this file.
• Add information about sitemaps in robots.txt.

No Sitemap

When you use WordPress, you most likely add an SEO plugin and you have a sitemap. But, this is not always the case with other sites and even with WordPress, you might forget about it. The sitemap is very important since it offers highly valuable information about the site content and what is present on pages. Search engines learn about update dates, changes, and even alternate languages available.

Web crawlers will miss parts of your site if you do not have a sitemap. This is particularly the case when the site is new since there are no external links that can let search engines know some pages exist.

Too Many Subfolders Added In URLs

Visitors exploring deep website pages often end up on pages that have really long URLs, with several subfolders. This is oftentimes unnecessarily complicated. Simplifying URL strings makes it a lot easier for users to interact with the site. The long URL does not necessarily hurt site performance. However, it makes it really inconvenient for the visitor that wants to copy the link and then share it with friends.

Several Redirects And 404 Errors

The 404 error usually appears because of some sort of broken link, which means users cannot get to a linked page. This can be internal or external and both will negatively affect user experience. The solution to this is to add 404 redirects. This lets users know that something bad happened with the link but there are solutions offered. The problem is using too many 404 redirects negatively affects search rankings and user experience. You should thus always monitor 404 errors with the use of Google Analytics.

Lack Of HTTPs

Last but not least, the modern website needs to use the HTTPs protocol. That is particularly the case when you ask for some personal data from your visitors, like credit card numbers or even an email address when signing up for a newsletter. You have to be sure that the security protocols are in place so that all private data is protected.