What Makes a Great Website?

There are countless reasons why a website is beneficial to your business. Aside from establishing your online presence, it makes your business more accessible, expands your reach, and improves your credibility.

However, for your business website to actually bring positive results to your business, it has to be a great one. If you are planning to have a website developed or have an existing one, you should have a checklist of the key characteristics of a good website and make sure that your business website meets all of these. Here, we will discuss these characteristics based on five aspects: Appearance, Functionality, Ease of Use, Content, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

 

 

Appearance

 Just as you would want your office or store to look presentable, it is extremely important to have a business website that looks professional and visually appealing. Having one can bring a positive impression from your target market, and will somehow convince your target market to avail your products and services. On the other hand, a badly designed website will do nothing but drive away prospects that visit your site.

The internet is an extremely crowded place. The trick to acquiring more clients and standing out from the rest is to keep consumers’ attention. One way to do this is by ensuring that your website looks easy on the eyes. Here are some guidelines:

• Choose 2 to 3 primary colors that will represent your brand. Make sure that they blend well and set the proper tone for your business.
• Ensure that the text is readable. Don’t make the font size too small or too big, and consider the color of the background when choosing the color of the font.
• Add meaningful high-quality images, graphics, and videos. This will keep site visitors interested, and prevent them from getting bored. However, be careful not to overload pages with too many images because this may distract users from actually reading your content.
• Keep it simple. By keeping the design simple and uncluttered will allow your target audience to focus on your message.

 

Functionality

Make sure that every part of your website works correctly. Ensure that all links, search function, registration and contact forms, and everything else works as expected. If your website doesn’t have a good level of functionality, site visitors will get frustrated and will not think twice about leaving your site. Hence, it is important to test your website several times before launching it.

 

Ease of Use

 It is not enough that your website has great functionality – it should also be easy to navigate and comprehend. Don’t assume that the potential clients who visit your website will take the time to figure out how your site works. In this fast-paced world, people do not afford to waste time. Therefore, you need to make your website as user-friendly as possible. Here are some guidelines to achieve a good level of usability:

• Make sure that your site’s pages load in just a few seconds. If your webpage loads in more than 20 seconds, you might really want to have your website fixed.
• Keep the layout of your website simple, organized, and consistent. Make sure that the content is easy to read.
• Your web pages must require minimal scroll. If you need to explain further, create buttons or links that will redirect users to another page that will elaborate on a particular topic. Not only will this be appreciated by site visitors, search engines will also reward your website.
• Ensure easy navigation through prominent, informative, and comprehensive menu items.
• Browser and mobile compatibility is another feature that you should take into consideration. By making sure that your website works and displays well on any browser and mobile devices, you won’t have any missed opportunities. Remember that your audience’s preference in terms of what browser or device to use can be very diverse, and it is your responsibility to adapt or adjust.

 

Content

Make sure that your website’s content is meaningful and can provide value to your audience. Keep in mind that the visitors to your site are looking for valuable information that will help them make a purchase decision. Hence, you need to take this opportunity to show your expertise and knowledge in your field through high quality and relevant content. Below are other content guidelines that you should follow:

• Keep your copy short and organized. You need to be straightforward or else, you will lose the interest of your audience. By breaking up texts into short paragraphs and using attention-grabbing headlines, you will keep them engaged.
• Regularly update your website with interesting and relevant content to keep users coming back.
• Make sure that your content is unique, timely, SEO-friendly, free from grammar mistakes, and has substance.

Top Tip: It may be a wise decision to hire a professional writer to create content for your website. Though this may entail additional expenses, it will totally be worth it because these experts have the necessary skill sets to not only attract your target market but also prompt action.

 

SEO

Good SEO practices are not only employed in content. There are also some rules that you can follow to make your website SEO-friendly. Some of the most basic ones include:

• Use keywords in your meta tags, alt tags, and headings.
• It is not recommended to use image-only objects, Flash, or Javascript when it comes to your website’s navigational items. Add lots of content in HTML format.
• Make your links descriptive and include SEO keywords in the link text.
• Use CSS or Cascading Style Sheets for your web layout.
• Ensure that your HTML code is clean or free from clutter.

 

Final Thoughts

Making sure that your website has these characteristics is crucial to establishing your business’ online presence. A good website can help your business grow, while a poorly created one can do more harm than good. For those who already have a business website that just doesn’t meet the criteria above, don’t worry it is not too late!

You can have your website overhauled by professional web designers and developers. At Infinit3solutions, we don’t just create a website that looks good. We also make sure that it is SEO-friendly, has great usability, and every element works seamlessly. You can either allow us to modify your existing website or perhaps request us to develop a fresh new website that can effectively represent your brand.

We understand that your business website is your investment. Hence, we commit ourselves to delivering the highest quality of service to ensure that you get your money’s worth.

For more information about our web development services, feel free to contact us today and let us get started!