What makes a great website? The question of getting a great website is simple but has no straightforward answer. The answer depends upon the purpose for which you are going to get your website, either designed yourself or through a web development company.
Most people turn to a web development company to have their intricate details sorted out. If you are going to hire one, make sure you let them know what you need precisely on your website. You must also discuss and agree on the detailed scope of web development work so that you can eventually get a great site. Also, avoid these 7 most common web development mistakes we discussed in a different article.
Below are some of the factors that make a great website, below are some timeless principals that may help you give a great brief to a provider.
Powerful Purpose
Your choice of the right web design should be based on the primary purpose of your site. Why do you need a website? Do you plan to sell a product or service online through an e-commerce website? Do you need a website to solve different problems that people may have? The important thing is to consider the purpose and make other decisions based on it.
Attractive Content is Essential to a Great Website
Having a great website that looks fantastic is a good thing. But if you can’t get your core message across to your target audience through the site, you are not going to get anywhere.
The content of the landing pages of any website plays a significant role in communicating the main message to visitors. So, write the central material in a few snappy sentences. You may want to keep in mind that most visitors will click away from your site if they don’t find what they are looking for in a few seconds.
Right Fonts
Ease of readability is essential for each website, and for this, the selection of the correct type of fonts is critical. Also, the critical information should be presented in the right size and boldness so it can draw the visitors’ attention and keep them hooked.
Using the right type and size of the font is even more critical today because most people use mobile devices and tablets to access the web. If the text on a webpage is not appropriate in size or challenging to read, most readers may click away and never come back.
Appropriate Color Scheme
For better user experience, the color scheme of your website should be carefully thought out. Ideally, make sure that the color scheme is based on the brand of product or service you are targeting so that the web presence of your brand could be reinforced.
If the color scheme is right, people will tend to associate those colors with your product or service. No matter what colors you select, make sure they complement each other. It’s a good idea to use contrasting colors for the fonts and background, which will make the experience of visitors much smoother.
Reasonable spacing is also crucial as it makes a website look clutter-free and minimalistic, which leaves a great impression on the visitors.
Relevant Images
Instead of standard stock images, it’s better to display pictures of your own office and where appropriate the images of products and services. Just make sure that images are of high quality. Each image should be relevant to the content on the webpage; it is going to be published.
Easy Navigation
Poor navigation on your website could be very annoying for the visitor. If your web pages don’t have a logical hierarchy for easy access to the vital information, visitors will get frustrated and look for information on other websites.
For easy navigation, use the proper hierarchy of your pages. Based on the content you are focusing on, make navigation easier for visitors to access the required information easily.
F Pattern
According to many studies, visitors browse web pages in an F pattern. Based on this factor, make sure that the most critical information on your website flows from the top left side of the page. So, you should consider this factor while developing your website content.
Minimum Load Time
Nothing frustrates visitors more than a website that takes ages to load. There is a lot of competition around there, and if your pages take too long to load, your visitor might end up on someone else’s website. You can do the following to reduce the load time on your site:
- Using efficient code
- Uploading optimized images
- Using Caching
As per research by google, 2 to 3 seconds is the time in which a website has to load; otherwise, you might start losing visitors. You can also check yourself, any page load speed by a tool provided by google called Google Page Speed Insights.
Responsive Design
A decade ago, most users would access websites on their desktop computers. Those days are long gone. Nowadays, people use a whole host of devices to surf the web, such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. Each smart device comes in with different display size. Therefore, it’s essential to make sure that your website design looks great on each type of device.
Web developers today ensure that websites they are developing are responsive in design.
Search Engine Optimization
Make sure that the pages of your website are optimized for search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) begins when a website is going through its development stages. Once the site is up and running, you need to make sure you use the right ongoing SEO techniques such as unique content development. Content that contains relevant keywords makes it easier for the search engines and visitors to find the information you offer.
Customer Support
A great website acts like an interactive tool allowing its owner to stay in touch with customers. For easy communication and ongoing support to customers, you can add a contact form or live chat feature on your site. You can direct them to your social media pages such as YouTube and Twitter, for instance, where your customers can easily approach you. A lot of companies now respond within hours. It is important because people are looking for quick answers, especially on social media.
Conclusion
So, these are a few factors which play a significant role in making a great website, standing out from the crowd and getting the attention of thousands of visitors. If you are building a new website, let the website design professional know in detail what you have in your mind, especially the points discussed above. The site should also be useful, engaging, and designed in a way that it helps achieve its core purpose.
