In the digital era, encountering a well-designed and engaging website can captivate your interest, enhancing your overall experience and inviting you to interact more.

But what makes a website good and how do you create one effectively? A recent study shows that 94% of first impressions relate to your site’s design. However, it doesn’t end there. If you’re embarking on your first website creation journey, there are many more pieces to the puzzle.

To unravel this, let’s delve into the tips for building a website, ranging from its foundational structure to its advanced functionalities.

Understanding the Basics of an Effective Business Website Design

When building a Business Website for the first time, several key considerations will guide your journey. And questions like “What should a good website have?” are likely to come to mind. Below, we outline the major features of a website.

1. Design: Create the First Impression

The design of a website is pivotal, forming the initial impression and shaping how site visitors interact with the content. In light of this, many businesses are enlisting professional web designers to enhance their web design, distinguishing themselves from competitors and drawing in more potential customers.

Here are a few foundational principles of design to aid you in developing a great website.

Harmonizing Color Schemes  

Colors play a significant role in web design, generating visual appeal, conveying emotions, and grabbing the attention of site visitors.

It’s essential to acquaint yourself with fundamental color theory, themes, and guidelines to devise a color scheme that resonates with your brand’s objectives.

Using online color palette generators like Adobe Color or Coolors can expedite this process, aiding your quest to create a great website.

Optimizing Font Selection

Choosing unsuitable fonts can impede a website’s accessibility and user experience. Hence, opting for web-safe fonts such as Arial, Times, and Helvetica is advisable, ensuring typography consistency across various devices and web browsers.

Prioritize selecting fitting font sizes and adequate spacing to enhance readability and render the text more visually appealing.

Establishing a Coherent Visual Hierarchy

Strategically organizing website elements is paramount, enabling visitors to effortlessly identify and navigate through the pivotal sections of your site.

The good news is that you can achieve this using different techniques, including utilizing color, proportion, contrast, grids, and whitespace to emphasize specific elements or foster an organized layout.

For instance, websites like Neuralink exemplify a well-structured visual hierarchy, featuring an intuitive layout and consistent font sizes and styles, projecting a cohesive and professional appearance.

Additionally, other elements like search engine optimization (SEO), site speed, and user security are crucial in determining what makes a website good.

SEO involves keyword research and is vital for e-commerce sites aiming to rank higher in search engine rankings and attract their target audience.

Ensuring your site loads swiftly and securing user data are also imperative, contributing to a seamless and trustworthy user experience.

2. Understanding Web Accessibility

Grasping the concept of web accessibility is pivotal for you. This signifies ensuring your website is user-friendly for everyone, including individuals with disabilities.

Think of it as having ramps in buildings; it allows everyone to enter easily. Here are a few strategies to enhance your site’s accessibility:

Alt Text for Images

• Imagine explaining a photo to a friend; that’s what alt text does for images on your website, aiding those with visual impairments.

Organized Headings

• Properly arranging your headings is akin to sorting your books by size; it helps users with screen readers comprehend your website’s structure.

Captions for Videos

• Like reading subtitles in a movie, providing captions for videos assists those who are hard of hearing.

Accessibility Testing with Tools

• Using tools like WAVE or WebAim is like giving your website a check-up to ensure it accommodates all.

3. Functionality

Every website has a distinct purpose, much like different shops in a mall, each serving unique needs. For instance, eCommerce sites are akin to online stores, aiming to facilitate seamless shopping experiences.

In contrast, a business website acts as a digital brochure, showcasing a company’s offerings and generating revenue.

Identifying your website’s mission and the needs of your target audience is paramount. This ensures that your website serves both you and its visitors effectively.

You can explore this guide on Learning Website Design for deeper insights into aligning your website’s functionality with user needs.

4. Add Essential Features

To enhance user-friendliness, your website should incorporate several key elements:

• Clear Headline: This tells your visitors what your site is about, akin to a book title.
• Prominent Image or Video: The first visual element visitors see should convey your site’s theme or message.
• Navigation Menu: Consider this the map of your site, guiding visitors to their desired destinations.
• Call-to-Action Buttons: These buttons invite users to perform specific actions like purchasing.
• Social Proof: Featuring testimonials builds trust with new visitors.
• Concise and Clear Content: Ensure your content is straightforward and understandable, like a well-written story.
• Incorporation of Media: Interspersing your site with images and videos maintains user interest.

5. Mobile-Friendly Design and Relevant Content

Ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is akin to ensuring your clothes fit well. It allows users to access your site comfortably from various devices.

Offering relevant content is equally important; it’s like serving your favorite dishes at dinner. You cater to user intent and keep your visitors engaged by doing so.

6. Google Analytics and Website Performance

Think of Google Analytics as your website’s report card. It provides insights into how well your website performs and how web users interact with your pages.

Regularly checking your website’s performance is essential to maintaining a high-quality user experience.

This article on What Is UX Design is helpful for further guidance on optimizing website performance and user experience.

7. Use Website Builders

Choosing a good website domain is as important as naming your pet; it becomes your site’s identity. Using the Best website builders for beginners can assist you in creating well-designed websites, making the process more manageable.

Ensuring your website appears in search results on Google and other search engines is crucial for increasing visibility.

The following resource on Responsive Website Builders can greatly assist those looking to create responsive websites.

8. SEO: A Foundation for Visibility

Implementing search engine optimization (SEO) is akin to placing signposts around the city – it helps your website get noticed by search engines like Google.

SEO isn’t just about making your site look good; it’s about the behind-the-scenes work that brings the right people to your online doorstep. Here’s a little roadmap for you:

Keyword Research

• Consider this as finding out what words people use when looking for a store like yours. Using these words helps the right folks find you!

Technical Optimization

• This is like ensuring your store is clean and welcoming. It includes having a fast website, no broken doors (links), and being easy to visit from any device (mobile-friendly). And yes, you can use a free tool to check how well your shop (website) is doing!

Quality Backlinks

• Imagine if all the popular kids in town were talking about your store. That’s what backlinks are! Having other sites talk about you makes your website seem more trustworthy.

Content Optimization

• This involves ensuring everything in your store (content) is arranged neatly and easily, with clear signs (headings) and descriptions.

Read more on creating SEO-friendly content

8 Qualities that Make a Good Website

1. Easy to Navigate

Imagine your website as a welcoming neighborhood. It’s where the Header acts as a guiding street sign, leading visitors through the main sections. Breadcrumbs are the vital stepping stones, showing the path and ensuring nobody feels lost.

The Search Bar is your go-to neighbor, answering queries and pointing in the right direction. At the bottom, the Footer keeps essential links, ensuring users know the rules and where to find help.

The Site Map is a comprehensive guide to the entire locality, and Drop-Down Menus serve as shortcuts to hidden alleys.

Ensuring these user-friendly and intuitive elements helps you achieve your business goals and foster customer loyalty through valuable content.

2. Page Speed.

In the digital realm, speed is king. A website that loads swiftly ensures a pleasant visitor experience, reducing the chances of people leaving – or ‘bouncing’ – and reducing your website’s visibility on Google search engines.

Tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights act as your speedometers, helping you to keep track of your site’s pace. Think of optimizing images and compressing code as decluttering your online space, enabling smoother navigation.

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is akin to having multiple doorways, allowing users quick access from various locations.

Remember, a well-oiled website is like a well-maintained car – it gets you to your destination efficiently and reliably.

3. Responsive Design

Your site should maintain its appearance and functionality, whether viewed on mobile phones, tablets, or desktops. This adaptability ensures that users can interact seamlessly with your content, no matter the device.

In a world increasingly reliant on various screen sizes, an adaptable design isn’t just a quality – it’s a necessity. It’s like ensuring your home feels cozy, whether you’re looking at it from the doorway or through a window.

4. Sturdy Security

Imagine your website as a fortress. Security protocols act as the walls and moat, protecting against digital invaders. Regular check-ups and audits are your sentries, identifying and repelling potential threats.

Keeping software and extensions updated, using strong passwords, and employing reputable password managers are the shields and armor, ensuring your fortress remains impregnable.

A secure website is a beacon of trust and reliability for your visitors in a digital landscape fraught with potential threats.

5. Well-Structured Data

Structured data is like the language translator for your website, helping search engines understand the context and content of your pages. It enables your site to communicate effectively with search engines, enhancing the visibility of your content.

Whether it’s recipes, business information, or event dates, structured data ensures that your website’s valuable content is accurately interpreted and prominently displayed in search results.

6. Smooth Inquiry and Checkout

For eCommerce sites, a smooth checkout is the paved road to sales. It’s ensuring the journey from selecting items to making the payment is straightforward and hassle-free.

Clear cost displays, secure checkout processes, and readily available customer support are the signposts and guides along this road, ensuring users reach their destination satisfactorily.

Remember, a satisfied customer will likely return and spread the word about your user-friendly site.

7. Fresh Content

You want to share stories, facts, and pictures that make people think, “Wow, this is cool!” Content marketing is like arranging your library with the best books – blogs, infographics, eBooks, and even live shows (webinars).

This is how you make friends and show them you know your stuff. You’re not just building a library; you’re building a place where everyone wants to be.

Keeping content fresh and up-to-date is like renovating and redecorating your home. It keeps things exciting for returning visitors and ensures compatibility with the latest technologies and trends.

Regularly updated content reflects a commitment to providing value and staying relevant, which can foster trust and loyalty among your users.

8. Clear Value Proposition

Your website’s value is its unique selling point, the flag it waves in the digital sea to attract visitors. It succinctly communicates the benefits of your products or services and why they stand out from the competition.

Whether it’s exceptional customer service, a wide product range, or unique features, a clear value proposition helps establish credibility and attract your target audience.

By enhancing these qualities and integrating the given keywords, you’re well on your way to developing a website that’s a point on the digital map and a thriving online community.

Keep things simple and detailed, and maintain user-friendliness, and you’ll surely see the right results.

What Is the Most Important Aspect of a Website?

In our earnest opinion, the crown jewel for optimizing a site is none other than User Experience (UX). Why, you ask? Picture this: a website is like a bustling marketplace.

Each stall, or in digital terms, web pages, is brimming with goods or relevant information waiting to be discovered.

Just as a well-laid-out market attracts more visitors, a stellar UX invites more users, guiding them seamlessly to accomplish what they came for.

Especially if you’re crafting an e-commerce site, UX isn’t just the cherry on top; it’s the whole sundae! It’s about helping users find the perfect pair of shoes or the latest gadget with ease and joy. It’s like setting a trail of breadcrumbs, leading them to the treasure—quality content.

But here’s the secret sauce: a site that’s a joy to navigate doesn’t just win customers; it wins brownie points with the internet giants! That’s right; a stellar UX can help your site rank higher in search rankings.

Wrapping Up

Remember, creating a website is like building a welcoming store. Every little detail, from a speedy page load time to a handy contact page, plays a major role in keeping your visitors happy. These are the elements that turn a simple visit into a shopping spree!

Restaurant websites or online stores have unique flavors but share the same goal – making visitors happy and turning them into customers. For more detailed advice on designing for different brands, check our article on What is Responsive Design?

Understanding and implementing these principles and qualities we outlined above are integral to constructing a website that stands. By considering the needs of your potential customers and optimizing for search engines, you are well on your way to developing a high-quality website that excels in form and function.

Next Steps: What Now?

• Find out How To Plan a Website in 7 Steps
• Read about the Best Web Hosting Comparison
• Also, check out the best of SEO Hosting Providers
• Make sure you know the 25 Essential Tips For Building a Website

Learn More About Building a Website

• What Is a Website Template & How To Personalize It?
• What Is a Hero Image? Definition, Examples & Best Practices
• What Is a Website Tagline? Definition, Examples, and How to Write It
• What Is a Widget on a Website? Types, Examples & Functions
• What is a Website URL?
• How To Check Website Browser Compatibility & Why You Should?
• How to Write Website Content: Authentic Best Practices
• How to Write a Call-to-Action That Works: Tips and Examples
• How to Make a Website Look Professional: 15 Actionable Tips