What design issues negatively affect SEO rankings?

Design issues that negatively affect SEO rankings include: using text within images rather than live HTML text (Googlebot cannot reliably read image-embedded text), implementing navigation using JavaScript that renders after page load (search engines may not index these links), placing critical content below heavy JavaScript-dependent elements that block indexing, and using infinite scroll pagination without static URL structures that search engines can crawl.

Other ranking-damaging design decisions include poor mobile usability (flagged in Google Search Console), excessive page weight from unoptimized images and third-party scripts that slow LCP, and duplicate content caused by CMS-generated parameter URLs without canonical tags. Each of these issues is identifiable through a Semrush or Screaming Frog technical SEO audit and correctable at the design or implementation layer.