Understanding Technical SEO Issues : Java Script

Handling Java Script for Technical SEO

There are more than 1.5 billion websites on the World Wide Web and the number is increasing rapidly. Over 97% of websites use JavaScript or JS as a programming language to accord functionality to web pages by managing attributes present on them in the DOM interface. Along with HTML, and CSS, JS is the core technology much in use in the present website development industry.  

Java Script Development - Netscape Story 

Note JavaScript has no relation to JAVA another programming language, the name is a pure marketing gimmick since the latter was highly popular whence the script was first embedded in Netscape Navigator by its inventor Brendan Eich.   

Most developers use button tags to trigger JS Scripts, but please take note not all button tags are made using JavaScript. The script powers a plethora of website elements including rendering large images, page navigation, and animations.

It is not always possible to detect JS-related issues as the programs are not embedded in the DOM (Document Object Model Interface). Most of the JavaScripts run on the client side and are not drawn from the source. But the programming language engine is also used in creating functions on the server side and is also used in various applications.

Detecting Missed Content using Site Audit 

Even to this date search engines are not able to decipher JS well, and most of the content can thus go uncrawled. The crawl deficiency can be noticed in the search console, but many webmasters may not have access to the console.  This can impact the performance of the website, and thus impede placement on SERPs. Besides using the search console you can view the source code to discover JS. A simple solution to this issue is to maximize the usage of HTML or PHP. 

Checking the source is the first step in discovering content that has not been indexed by Google or other search engines. Using the (site:) operator command is the next step to discovering content that has not been indexed. 

Use Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool for it warns of elements including the scripts that are not loading and cannot be crawled. Page loading issues can impact how Google understands the page and impact indexing and ranking. 

Use another operator (cache:) to see if pieces of content are missing. Simply match the page with contents visible in the browser and note the missing element. 

Rivalry with Microsoft

Netscape eventually lost ground to Microsoft Internet Explorer. The latter reversed engineered Java Script to develop and implement its own scripting engine called JScript.   Released in the year 1996 JScript could render support HTML and CSS. 

Since the different ways, scripts have been executed the functionality could not be cross-platform friendly hence visitors were informed as to which browser to use for the best interpretation of a web page. This put the web developers in a quagmire but nevertheless, Netscape was losing ground and by the year 2000 Microsoft web browser Internet Explorer had captured 95% of the browser market. 

Java Script Popularity 

JavaScript or JScript is ideal for client-side scripting the engine is embedded along with HTML or is embedded as a standalone. Web developers use the third-party Web Framework (WF) or libraries for client-side scripting in their websites. Over 80% of developers use the WF or libraries for the functional benefits they accord. 

Some of the popular libraries are:

• Angular
• React
• JQuery 

Of these JQuery is used for website development by more than 75% of developers. 

Though there are some drawbacks whence JScript is used on the client-side its proper implementation results in increased functionality.    

The script has to lead to a virtual revolution in the user experience (UX) with the induction of interactive graphics, and videos, and it powers animations and complex page navigations. The script virtually runs the whole platform for an amazing user experience on WWW.   

Despite the benefits, the implementation could be a nightmare for website developers and search engine specialists. The SE robots usually do not dig deeper in the case of web pages with complex layers. Thus, it is imperative to quickly detect the impediments caused and rectify the errors so that the page is rendered for complete indexing by search engines. In short keep the website development as simple as possible.