What Makes a Great Website?
As of early 2023, there were more than 1.13 billion websites live on the internet. This is great news because it means the internet has become such a part of our daily lives that nearly everyone uses it. But it also means that the competition is fierce and getting your website to stand out in what may be an already crowded market. The better you can make your site, the easier it will be to drive traffic and start reaching customers you may otherwise not be able to reach. So, what makes a great website? Let’s take a look.
Mobile Responsive Design
We’ve mentioned this before in several other posts, but it bears repeating. Incorporating mobile responsiveness into your site’s design isn’t just a good idea—it’s essential if you want to maximize your reach. Remember, more people use their phones and tablets to surf the internet than desktop computers. And if your site isn’t able to load in a way that is conducive to mobile devices, prospective customers will click away and may choose to work with or support your competitors. When you partner with an experienced Denver website designer, you’ll know that your site will be optimized for mobile devices as soon as it’s live.
Frequent Updates
Stagnant websites just don’t perform well. Why? Because search engines like Google and Bing reward sites that are actively updated. It shows that business owners are involved and are taking the time to keep their information current for their customers. More importantly, those frequent updates give search engines something to crawl and can increase your site’s ability to rank well or even outrank your competitors. If you haven’t refreshed the content on your site recently, consider making a few strategic updates to keep your pages fresh.
Consistent Branding
Customers need to recognize your brand throughout your website. That means the colors you use and logos you add should stay true to the ones used on all of your other marketing materials. If you use colors and logos that aren’t the same, you risk confusing your customers and leaving them wondering if they found a different company’s page.
Professional designers will make sure the colors used on your site match the rest of your marketing materials and can ensure that all logos are consistent across the site. Your branding will be clear and customers will know they’ve found your company’s site as soon as they click onto the page.
Easy Navigation
Customers don’t want to spend time puzzling through how to access different pages. They want to be able to navigate your site quickly and efficiently. Great websites have clear menus and make it easy to move from page to page. But the best websites also incorporate clear calls to action and interlinks so customers can explore other pages related to the topics they’re reading about.
Simple Designs
Back in the early 2000s, website designs were all about features and graphics. Cursors had tails, menus had sparkles, and the pages just looked messy if they loaded at all. Now, simplicity is the name of the game and the cleaner your site looks, the more appealing it will be to your customers.
If you’re tempted to add fun features that make your page dynamic, consider how the page would appear to your target customers. If there’s a chance that it might be busy or distracting, err on the side of caution and scale things back. At Denver Website Designs, we can help you choose eye-catching elements that add to your customers’ experiences rather than encouraging them to click away.
Accessibility
Though the vast majority of your customers will be able to navigate your website without trouble, some may struggle to interpret pages with low-contrast text or may rely on text reader programs to describe your pages in detail. That’s why the best websites prioritize accessibility in their design.
Rather than using pale backgrounds with light fonts, great websites use high-contrast colors to help those with visual impairments better use the page. They add alt text or descriptive text to images so programs can describe those images in detail for visually impaired or blind users. If you’re not sure how to make your site accessible, don’t panic. Your website design team can make sure your site can be used by your target customers with ease.
Current SSL Certificates
If you’ve ever visited a site and gotten a warning pop-up informing you that the site may not be safe, it’s likely because the security certificate expired. This certificate indicates that the site is less likely to be hacked or house viruses that could infect your customers’ computers and mobile devices.
The best sites take care to keep their certificates up to date. This reduces the risk of customers being redirected away from the site and encourages confidence in your brand.
Clear Ways to Contact You
Great websites prioritize user-friendly design and one element that many businesses overlook is making sure the contact page is easy to use and find. The best websites have dedicated contact pages that allow customers to submit email queries through the site rather than having to send an email in a separate window.
These pages don’t need to have tons of copy or additional information. But they should have an easy-to-use form with fields that are clearly labeled so customers won’t have trouble filling them out.
Get Help Setting up a Great Website
Building a fantastic website can be tough when you’re also trying to juggle your normal business responsibilities. And while you can do it on your own, you don’t have to. At Denver Website Designs, our team will work with you to create a website that reflects your brand, communicates your values, and showcases the benefits you bring to your target customers.
If you’re ready to take your company’s website to the next level or need to launch an entirely new site for your new business, don’t manage it on your own. Contact Denver Website Designs today and see how our experienced team can bring your vision to life.
Go Back Mobile Responsive Design
We’ve mentioned this before in several other posts, but it bears repeating. Incorporating mobile responsiveness into your site’s design isn’t just a good idea—it’s essential if you want to maximize your reach. Remember, more people use their phones and tablets to surf the internet than desktop computers. And if your site isn’t able to load in a way that is conducive to mobile devices, prospective customers will click away and may choose to work with or support your competitors. When you partner with an experienced Denver website designer, you’ll know that your site will be optimized for mobile devices as soon as it’s live.
Frequent Updates
Stagnant websites just don’t perform well. Why? Because search engines like Google and Bing reward sites that are actively updated. It shows that business owners are involved and are taking the time to keep their information current for their customers. More importantly, those frequent updates give search engines something to crawl and can increase your site’s ability to rank well or even outrank your competitors. If you haven’t refreshed the content on your site recently, consider making a few strategic updates to keep your pages fresh.
Consistent Branding
Customers need to recognize your brand throughout your website. That means the colors you use and logos you add should stay true to the ones used on all of your other marketing materials. If you use colors and logos that aren’t the same, you risk confusing your customers and leaving them wondering if they found a different company’s page.
Professional designers will make sure the colors used on your site match the rest of your marketing materials and can ensure that all logos are consistent across the site. Your branding will be clear and customers will know they’ve found your company’s site as soon as they click onto the page.
Easy Navigation
Customers don’t want to spend time puzzling through how to access different pages. They want to be able to navigate your site quickly and efficiently. Great websites have clear menus and make it easy to move from page to page. But the best websites also incorporate clear calls to action and interlinks so customers can explore other pages related to the topics they’re reading about.
Simple Designs
Back in the early 2000s, website designs were all about features and graphics. Cursors had tails, menus had sparkles, and the pages just looked messy if they loaded at all. Now, simplicity is the name of the game and the cleaner your site looks, the more appealing it will be to your customers.
If you’re tempted to add fun features that make your page dynamic, consider how the page would appear to your target customers. If there’s a chance that it might be busy or distracting, err on the side of caution and scale things back. At Denver Website Designs, we can help you choose eye-catching elements that add to your customers’ experiences rather than encouraging them to click away.
Accessibility
Though the vast majority of your customers will be able to navigate your website without trouble, some may struggle to interpret pages with low-contrast text or may rely on text reader programs to describe your pages in detail. That’s why the best websites prioritize accessibility in their design.
Rather than using pale backgrounds with light fonts, great websites use high-contrast colors to help those with visual impairments better use the page. They add alt text or descriptive text to images so programs can describe those images in detail for visually impaired or blind users. If you’re not sure how to make your site accessible, don’t panic. Your website design team can make sure your site can be used by your target customers with ease.
Current SSL Certificates
If you’ve ever visited a site and gotten a warning pop-up informing you that the site may not be safe, it’s likely because the security certificate expired. This certificate indicates that the site is less likely to be hacked or house viruses that could infect your customers’ computers and mobile devices.
The best sites take care to keep their certificates up to date. This reduces the risk of customers being redirected away from the site and encourages confidence in your brand.
Clear Ways to Contact You
Great websites prioritize user-friendly design and one element that many businesses overlook is making sure the contact page is easy to use and find. The best websites have dedicated contact pages that allow customers to submit email queries through the site rather than having to send an email in a separate window.
These pages don’t need to have tons of copy or additional information. But they should have an easy-to-use form with fields that are clearly labeled so customers won’t have trouble filling them out.
Get Help Setting up a Great Website
Building a fantastic website can be tough when you’re also trying to juggle your normal business responsibilities. And while you can do it on your own, you don’t have to. At Denver Website Designs, our team will work with you to create a website that reflects your brand, communicates your values, and showcases the benefits you bring to your target customers.
If you’re ready to take your company’s website to the next level or need to launch an entirely new site for your new business, don’t manage it on your own. Contact Denver Website Designs today and see how our experienced team can bring your vision to life.