Five Characteristics of A Great Website

“A good website has a solid design, a great website is unique and meets the needs of the customer and the business it represents.” -Joseph Lancaster

The single and most powerful tool you can have in marketing is a quality website.

Websites are typically your business’s and organization’s front door. That said, a website that is merely good is not enough to convert users into customers, keep customers engaged and generate sales. If you want all of these, what you really need is a great website. Today, there are thousands upon thousands of pre-made themes and templates that effectively make creating a website easy. That is, however, if you wish your business to be represented by something so generic and off the shelf. Although these themes may make your website look professional enough to give it a basic business start, they do not have a competitive advantage.

These websites, albeit straightforward and easy, are still cookie-cutter pre-made programs that would make your business website seemingly look bland. If you truly want a professional and sleek-looking website, you need to invest in web design in the Philippines and partner with a good agency that delivers results. After all, you should have a website that is as unique as your business is.

So, that brings us to the next question: What makes a truly great website?

1.) Well Designed and Functional

Essentially, your website represents and reflects your company, your services, products, and your brand. All that considered, it should appear visually appealing, professional, and polished. Make room for white space and uncluttered layouts with high-quality photographs and graphics. You would also want your message to shine through.

Another thing to consider is that your website should work correctly, quickly, and as expected. Create a website and build to web standards, proofread regularly and rigorously then test regularly for any problems with functionality or speed. Each page should be both fast and functional. Anything less would deter prospective customers. Keep in mind that first impressions are important. So, make every webpage on your website count.

2.) Easy to use

Regardless of what their reasons for visiting your website may be, it is important to keep in mind that your site visitors are always in a hurry. Do not make them wait and work for the information. A pivotal aspect of web design is user experience as it helps visitors use, understand, and stay on your website. That said, create logical navigation with a clear hierarchy. Be consistent with your layouts and visual cues across the site.

3.) Optimized for mobile

Today, most individuals access the internet through their mobile phones. As it is, there is absolutely no excuse for a website not to look great and work well on any platform it is accessed on. All that considered, your website should be optimized for mobile and tablet devices as you will never know what your next visitor might be using to access your website. Apart from improving the experience of your visitors, optimizing for mobile will also work wonders in boosting your SEO Rankings.

4.) Fresh and Quality Content

Continuously producing fresh and quality content is paramount in keeping a website great. Be interesting, new, and brief. Use language that your audience can understand and avoid using any jargon, corporate speak, or acronyms. Keep in mind that your visitors have short attention spans, so it is imperative to be accurate, relevant, and regularly update your content. Blogs and social media are both great avenues for adding fresh content and keeping visitors returning to your website. Apart from that, it also does wonders for your SEO strategy. Sure, keeping things fresh and new may require a bit of an investment on your part, but as a pivotal aspect of a great website, you cannot absolutely do without it.

5.) Accessible contact and location

No matter how interested your audiences and visitors are in you, they will make no effort to chase you down if you do not make it easy for them. So, make contacting you less complicated. Offer multiple points of contact: phone, email, social media, and maybe an easy-to-use contact form that you can use to get back to them at a later time. Providing them with a pin to your business address via a Google map is a bonus. Lastly, ensure that all of this pertinent information is readily available on an easy-to-find contact page—if not every page of your website. After all, having your contact information ready makes all the difference between a missed lead and a successful one.

BOTTOMLINE

An important thing to note is that a website is a public application that typically targets any number of users. Essentially, this means that your website would then be an indispensable tool in growing your business while simultaneously promoting it. All that considered, make sure that you are building something that is not only good but great as well.