Building websites in the age of AI.

AI has changed how we think about websites, how we design for both humans and AI, and even who does the building: AI or a website designer.

Where did we start?

When I first started designing websites almost 20 years ago, we were focused on a few key things: keywords, domain name, content, and getting found on Google ->preferably ranking number 1.

Google would implement new rules every year, we would change our structure, add and edit keywords, and hit publish, and start all over again. The more tricks people discovered, the more rules Google instilled, back then even punishing and de-listing websites.

We slowly moved to a fair set of rules for all: good work will lead to good rankings, consistency will move you up, and diversity will help you get the top spot.

But Google was only thinking about people.

Moving to an AI-searchable and citable website.

I'll get to whether AI should build your website in a minute, but for now, most people do not realize we are designing websites in a time when both AI and Human search are prevalent. We are designing not only to rank on Google but also to be positioned at the top in the answer engine results.

Modern website design includes many considerations. Understanding the history of where we are and how we got here has made some designers especially strategic in how they design websites, and staying on top of the changes is the leverage all websites need.

Site Structure - if you are old-school or have been developing sites for a while, this is human nature for you, and also where I see DIY website designers failing, which is highly detrimental for both human and AI interactions.

For those of you not familiar with the site structure, imagine a book that is a pile of pages, not organized by the Title, or Chapters, just a pile of paper. Its an obstacle for both AI and Google to understand and organize the content of your website and rank it, even though it might look good for humans.

Content - consistency and clarity seem like obvious considerations in a website, but this is also where it looks and sounds different depending on whether your audience is a machine or a human.

For humans, we can use casual terms and references, like 'increasing sales', we know what an increase in sales means, AI would prefer clarity: 'increased sales by 10%.' Not only that, but much like humans, AI wants proof, so the solution might read more expansively as 'increased sales by 10% across digital leads in North America for XYZ Company'

Humans understand that a 'learn more' button at the bottom of text about a Founder, should take us to the About' page or a page directly linked to that person directly. AI wants the same button to read 'About Founder's Name' for clarity.

Information: - AI is an answer tool, you ask it questions, and it seeks clarity in its answers, how they are formatted, and their completeness. Its not enough to say you offer an oil change, you need to tell AI the price of the oil changes (you can use ranges), the type of oil, how frequently it should be done,, and what type of oil. Humans are ok with knowing you do oil changes, and we have become accustomed to not knowing all of the details, AI wants it. This is why we are seeing a massive increase in FAQ pages - strictly to serve AI.

Trust and Proof - Your #1 boss mug may be proof at work, but AI demands more. AI seeks credibility and consistency. If you say you have been in business for 20 years, make sure your founding year is actually 20 years prior to this year, and there are no 18 years in business in any of your other assets (like Google).

Who links to you, and who do you link to? Just like in life, this shows influence and credibility. Testimonials and reviews - humans check and AI checks, and I think its going to be even more important as time goes on, so continue your habit of collecting reviews.

Why do you still need a human for your website build?

I think AI does a lovely job building websites; you can tell them, they all look the same. There are changes to the colors, sometimes the typeface and images, but they all look the same, for this reason alone, it's hard to be memorable and achieve the right positioning when you use AI to build your website.

AI designs for other AI, it doesn't understand context or human nuance, emotion, or sentiment, its black and white and makes assumptions that do not always land. The language will feel off, the images will look phony, and all of that lends to how humans visiting your website feel about your brand.

A designer will ask you the real questions you need to build a strong website, incorporate your real perspective, key differentiator, and brand essence; AI will give you your own version of everything else out there.

There's a place for both human and AI to work together.

Julie Boake, awedity inc.