We all know the saying ‘first impressions are lasting and this is true even for websites. When we see a website for the first time, most of the time it’s how we look at it that determines whether we leave or see other pages. It may be because of it’s design or content; but what really separates a great website from a bad one? In this article we will discuss the determining factors that are vital to make a website great. So...what really makes a website great?
Design and Appearance:
Truth be told, a website design and how it appears is very important to make sure you catch the attention of your audience. Your website design should reflect your brand. All aspects of the website such as; colors, characters, and graphics should work hand-in-hand to have a consistent and elegant outcome. You want to have a website design that follows the latest trends, but at the same time presents you to your audience in a professional manner.
Purpose:
Before you even start building, your business goals and purpose should be very clear. Have it written down to look back on to understand if your website hit the mark. Next, understand the purpose of your website. By doing this, it will be a lot easier to manage your website to accomplish your business goals. Not having a clear goal and purpose will not allow your website to be effective in maximizing your business profits.
User Experience:
It is said that to have an effective website, every page should be 2 clicks away from where you're at. This part is commonly taken for granted. Your website navigation is more important than you might think. Even though this might not be the reason you have people to come back and visit, this however will greatly affect the experience of your current users.
People on the internet tend to be very impatient. Regardless of age. When they are not happy with their experience, they would just leave right away. It could be because they did not understand the website’s functionality, or the website load time is long, or they’re just not impressed at all. Build your website to be very welcoming and make sure that the load time on every page is the fastest you can get so your user experience will be positive.Make sure that it is mobile friendly too.
SEO:
We built a website to get visitors. Without them you are not maximizing your business traffic and profits. SEO or Search Engine Optimization helps drive traffic back to your website. In a nutshell, it tells people on the internet that your website exists. Make sure that your content is relevant to your customers to get their attention. Google nowadays basically is the holy grail of the internet. When someone searches for something, they will say “I will google it” not “I will go to the browser and search for it”(pun intended). Make sure to adhere to its standards and requirements. If you know how to do SEO, then you’re in luck. If not, you can always hire someone to help you with it.
Take away
Your website is an extension of your business. Build it how you want to build your business. Make it professional and smart and people will have the same impression of you. It should entice them to click and learn more about your business. We can help create a website that suits your business. Let’s talk and let’s get your website started!
Already have a website? Great! We’d love to talk through our website maintenance packages and what they can provide or have a chat on SEO!
Next Wave is a Charlotte website design company. We have been doing websites since 1998. Our teams combined experience with websites touches all areas, SEO, Social Media, Graphics, Layouts, Mobile, and much more.
We are the website design experts.