The 10 Most Important Elements For A Successful Website

As a business owner, you have to recognise and understand just how important your website is to your business. It is the shop window of your business, allowing people to see what you sell or what you offer. Websites might have been around for decades but they still play a significant role in the success of your business so if you assume that your website is working hard for your business then it’s likely that it isn’t!

There are certain elements that set a good website apart from a bad one. Good web design is vital and to ensure you get it right, it’s time to get back to basics and look at what really matters when it comes to turning your website into a success.

Users now expect a simple and seamless browsing experience so anything too complex and they will disappear to one of your competitors. Every single page on your website should be easy to navigate and any options or links should be easy to find. Sure, you will need a menu and everything structured in a logical way but if your users are attempting to make a purchase or find important information, they should be able to get there in the shortest possible way.

Users consider their time to be valuable and they don’t want to waste it looking for what they need, so streamline your navigation and make everything easily accessible.

Finding the right balance when it comes to visual elements and design can prove challenging. Give your users a bland and boring website and they are likely to lose interest. Go over the top with visuals and graphics and that will also put them off. Their experience has to be enjoyable, easy on the eye and they have to know that they can use your website with minimal effort.

If animation and text take over your pages and make it difficult to find or do what they need then they will more than likely visit one of your competitors. Your design, the visual elements and how everything is laid out have to be intuitive.

Your entire website will be underpinned by the content it offers. It will not only help to improve SEO but it will provide users with all that they need. They don’t want or need masses of content, so keep content concise and easy to digest. It should be engaging, and informative but concise at the same time. People simply don’t have enough time to read page after page of text and they don’t have time to watch promotional or informative videos that are too long. When your content is structured well and thought out, it will connect with your audience.

If you’re struggling to write good content, don’t worry, because we offer content writing to help grab the attention of your audience.

Your website could be the most beautiful site in the world. One that does it all perfectly well but it could have no SEO at all. What this means is that search engines won’t know about it and in turn, neither will your audience. There are many different elements of SEO that you have to do well and this can range from the design of your site to the content you create and keywords. With the right SEO strategy, you can ensure that search engines find your site and that it sits at the top of the tree on that first page of Google.

Again, having a stunning website is all good but what if your hosting simply isn’t up to speed? If you have a huge influx of visitors then you don’t want your website being brought to its knees. You need a website that is fast, responsive and online and this is where the right hosting can really work. A hosting company that is reliable, has excellent customer support and takes a proactive approach to monitoring the network as this will ensure that downtime is kept to a minimum.

The majority of people are now browsing websites on their smart devices such as tablets and smartphones. Therefore, this should be incorporated into the design of your website as this will ensure it can be viewed on these devices. It will enable users to browse your site in the same way they would if they used a desktop or laptop, so essentially, everything fits neatly into the screen without the need for excessive scrolling. Furthermore, this will also form part of your SEO strategy as mobile-friendly websites will rank higher than those that aren’t mobile-friendly.

Anyone who lands on your website is there for one reason. That is to either find specific information or they might want to purchase a product or service. Whatever it might be, you need them to be able to find your call to action (CTA) so they know where to go to carry out their intended action.

This ties in with the design as well as content and visual design. If your visual design is overpowering then the visual elements might crowd out your CTA. Should you add too much content then that could cause your CTA to become difficult to find. Your CTA’s should be simple to find, easy to use and take your users to where they need to go.

Your website has to flow and to achieve that, your pages have to be consistent. When the design is consistent across your entire website, users will become familiar with all that they need. If your menu is located in one place on one page and then in another place on a different page, users are going to become frustrated. Keep the style, font, spacing and design elements as consistent as possible.

If you want users to know who you are and more importantly, remember who you are, then branding is key. Therefore, make sure your brand colours and logo are clear to see for all. This way, when people land on your website, they will be able to recognise who you are and if your website is designed well, they are likely to remember you too.

Promoting your business, brand and website is vital and that is why you should have these links on your website. This will also help your search engine ranking but will encourage users to browse your accounts to find out more about you.

Your website is more than just a website. It is a tool that you and your users will rely on time after time. Therefore, it makes sense to ensure you get it right by following the steps above.