8 mistakes to avoid on your Webflow site

Introduction

Building your site on Webflow quickly and efficiently, starting from scratch, may seem simple. Even with a good grasp of the tool, nobody is safe from a few mistakes. Here are 8 mistakes to avoid on your Webflow site, and how to fix them.

By avoiding these mistakes, your Webflow site will be better optimized, faster and better ranked.

1. Not compressing media files

To illustrate your website, you add media files, such as photos, illustrations or videos. They draw the reader's attention to the different sections of your site.

If you add them without compressing them, you increase your pages' load time. Users wait longer and their experience suffers.

The fix is to compress and optimize your media files before adding them to Webflow. Tools such as Optily or TinyPNG automatically compress the images of your Webflow site.

2. Not renaming images or adding alt text

On a big site, with many pages, links and images, it quickly becomes hard to find your way around.

That is one of the reasons to rename your images with keywords and fill in their Alt attribute (the alternative text).

The Alt attribute tells Google what the image contains. It is therefore an important setting for your Webflow site's SEO.

Images without a clear name or Alt attribute also hold back your site's accessibility, meaning its ability to be used by everyone, including people with disabilities. Screen readers read the alt text aloud to visually impaired people. It also takes over when there is a display problem. If the image does not load, the alt text is shown in its place and gives the user context.

Renaming your images before adding them and filling in their Alt attribute helps you find your way more easily while building the site. You also improve your organic search rankings (SEO) while making your site more accessible.

3. Not renaming classes

On top of your images, remember to rename the classes on your Webflow site. If you leave them as they are, you lose efficiency.

Poorly organized classes cost you time while you build the site.

We recommend using a "Style Guide" to keep a clear organization as you build your Webflow site. The Client-First hierarchy is also a very good way to organize your classes. You can discover the Client-First methodology in our dedicated article.

4. Not using the "Grid" element

To create columns, the natural reflex is to use the "Columns" element. Yet this element limits your customization options later on.

It is better to use the "Grid" element, which gives you more freedom in your layout.

5. SEO mistakes

SEO mistakes are common. They cost you traffic and hurt your ranking against your competitors.

To avoid them from the moment you design your Webflow site, read our ultimate SEO guide 2024.

6. Title tag and meta description mistakes

The title tag and meta description are what make users choose your site in the search results.

Here are some examples of title tags.

Examples of meta titles — Examples of title tags

Here are some examples of meta descriptions.

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Avoid duplicates in these 2 fields and give each page a unique text. A good title tag or meta description contains keywords and has the right length.

7. Duplicate content

When you write your site's content, avoid duplicate content as much as possible.

Every element of your site must be unique, whether it is titles, paragraphs or URLs.

8. Page indexing

Getting your site's pages indexed matters. A page that is not indexed does not appear in search engines, so users will not see it.

Before requesting indexing, check that the page has no duplicate content, that the article has enough words and that the page structure has no issues. Any of these factors can prevent your page from being indexed.