The internet has taken over our lives in the 21st century and now you can find anything and everything you need online. Because of this. It’s pretty much a basic requirement now for any business to have a website; not only to help sell more products but also to help prove legitimacy.
Your small business will no doubt consider developing its own site and you might even be looking up how to hire the best website developers. For those who don’t have the budget to hire a website development company, you might have found this article in the hopes of learning how to make a great website on your own. Keep reading to find out what makes a good website and what you should know going into the development of your site.
Basic principles of a great website
A frequent question asked to a web developers is what makes a good website? The truth is, each of us will have a different answer to what we think the best website is, and what’s “good” will also depend on what the purpose of the site is. A great e-commerce site for example will look different from the best website for real estate.
In general, there are four basic principles for what makes a good website. Keep these in mind before your redesign or launch.
Purpose
Great designs start with a specific purpose in mind. Before starting design or development, take the time to think and zero in on what you really want to achieve with the website. Is it there to put out information about your company or are you using a website to generate more leads or sales? Ask yourself what you want to accomplish with each page of the site. If it doesn’t have a clear purpose, consider getting rid of it.
Aesthetically pleasing
Usually, the first thing to come to mind when we hear “great website” is that it looks good; and this is totally true. If your website is pleasing to the eyes, then your visitors will be more encouraged to stay and keep browsing.
There’s a lot that goes into great visual design and we don’t have the time to get into that in this article. As a rule, make sure to organize things visually and have enough free space so things don’t look cluttered. Make things easy to read and don’t make finding information a challenge akin to Where’s Waldo. It’s a good idea to keep up with current design trends so people will also know that your site is up to date and wasn’t just put up in the 90’s and left as is.
Relevant and original content
Your site should have content that’s relevant to your company and target market. Constantly update your site with new content through blogs as this not only gives more for your customers to read, but will also help with your search rankings, especially when you follow SEO best practices.
Clear site navigation
Like good visual design, a great user experience is invaluable to a website. Plan and map your site so that navigating it both easy and intuitive. Those who visit the site should be able to fine what they’re looking for in a few clicks and shouldn’t feel like a scavenger hunt. If it’s too difficult finding an answer to a question, they won’t just leave the site, they might even go to your competitor.
Other considerations
Aside from the 4 basic principles, there are a couple things worth mentioning when developing your site.
Always test and monitor your site to make sure all pages are working and there are no dead links. Ensure as well that every page loads fast, in about 2-3 seconds. Slow loading webpages aren’t just a turn-off for users, it will also worsen your rankings on Google.
Optimize your site for mobile, or better yet, use dynamic designs that will fit any screen size. With a wide variety of devices that can browse the web, you need to be prepared for any screen that a user has.
Build your top-tier website with Top Results Consulting
A website is a valuable investment for your company, so it’s imperative to get quality website development services as you build yours. Give Top Results Consulting a call today to jumpstart the development and design of your company’s site. We’ll help you reach the top of the results on search and bring your site in front of millions of users.
