What makes a good Website?

There are over 2 billion websites online in the world today. With that many websites, it can be difficult to stand out. There are a lot of factors that determine if your site gets traffic, and also how long visitors stay on your site, and actually buy products and services from it. Lets take a look at what makes a great and useful website: There are some basic points to keep in mind when setting up a website, that will be crucial to its effectiveness, these are:

1. Purpose. An effective design starts with a purpose in mind. Have a well defined notion of what you would like to accomplish with the website. That will guide you towards the correct design elements and aesthetics you will need to implement.
2. Visual. Your site needs to look good. by making use of the latest design practices and code, you can design a modern website that appeals to the type of audience you will be expecting to visit the site. This is a crucial element, as an abrasive design will cause visitors to leave before they get a chance to read or consume your content.
3. Ease of Use. The site needs to be designed in a way that makes it easy for users to navigate. Since websites to not come with a user manual (haha), its up to the designer to make sure that when a user visits the site, they will find it easy to navigate and get to the information they may be looking for. An intuitive design is important in converting a visitor into a buyer or client. This also reflects on your organization’s sense of order, communication and competency.
4. Quality of Content. The content and wording on your site needs to be clear, legible and relevant to your target market. It needs to be organized in a way that allows a ‘flow’ from one topic to the next, making it easy for your visitors to get a clear description of what you have to offer. This means making use of descriptive images, and placing them in the correct areas, to complement the text of the site. This will go a long way in getting your point across, and may lead to more engagement from potential customers.
5. Branding. A company’s brand is its image. The site design should incorporate the company’s colors and logo design elements. This will shape the ‘feel’ of the site, whether you are going for modern, edgy, playful or professional feel, you have to make sure you convey this through the design, this gives the site visitors a sense of ‘being in the right place’ and will lead to improved customer engagement. This is just like when you walk into a bank, you get a different ‘feeling’ than when you walk into a hardware store, and it re-assures you that you will get what you are looking for here.
6. Responsiveness. This is vitally important these days as potential clients can visit your site via a myriad of different gadgets like Mobile phones, Laptops, TVs, Tablets etc. Its up to the designer to make sure that the design is mobile friendly and will not compromise quality of the site when viewed on smaller of bigger screens. This is especially important as most users will probably visit your site from mobile phones if you market on social media.
7. Website Load Speed. How fast will your website load. Users tend to move on and look for an alternative source if the website loads too slow or the images don’t load at all. This is especially important for online stores, as shoppers have come to expect high website performance from sites like Amazon and other major online retail giants. If your site is sluggish, you will lose customers, its that simple.
8. Site Security. That little green lock icon that appears in the address bar reassures the site visitor that the site they are viewing is secure. This is called SSL encryption. This boosts your visitor’s trust factor, knowing that their connection is secure, especially if they have to give out their sensitive information like credit card or bank details for shopping or subscribing to your service.

All these factors are crucial, and getting all these right will ensure that you have created a website that is fully functional and will serve as a good online presence for your brand. It is important as your website will represent your company 24/7 and is usually the first interaction a potential customer will have with your company. REMEMBER: A great website is no longer an ‘additional marketing tool’. it is an absolute must-have if you want your business to thrive in 2020 and beyond.