A website definitely needs to be eye-catching to attract visitors, but there are other things that need to be taken into account if you want to achieve high rankings, Search Engine Journal writes.
One popular website design is the Parallax, where an entire website is presented on a single page. The disadvantage of such a design is that the high volume of content on one page can reduce the impact of multiple keywords. Such a design can make it hard for Google to know what to make of the mixed content. If the Parallax design is one you like, the use of Infinite Scroll can positively impact your site; Infinite Scroll allows for the quick loading of a site that has all its content on a single page.
Another commonly used design is HTML5, which enables the quick loading of embedded videos and animations. There are a few changes in HTML5 compared to HTML4, however, and it is best to learn these subtle differences quickly to create an efficient final result.
It is important to note that although the use of infographics is nowadays preferred over normal content, they cannot be crawled by search engine spiders. You can use text, alt-tags, and other pointers to make the content clearer to Google.
A web design that Google itself recommends is responsive design, which allows for a website to be viewed on a PC or a mobile device, adjusting to the screen size. It was the most popular website design last year and will continue to be so in 2014.
In conclusion, the choice of website design is very important with regards to SEO, but you also need to consider other aspects in order to achieve the best result: you need to match the chosen design to the particular aims of the site, while offering the best experience for visitors.