What Makes a Good Website?
Setting up a WordPress site has been made easy these days. It is often thought that once the site has been published all you have to do is wait for visitors to contact you. However, to stay up to date and keep up to date, the site needs regular updating and maintenance.
And what is needed for your site to attract interest, increase contacts, and cash flow of your business? A slow loading, confusing or unreliable looking website doesn’t do that if the user can’t wait for your pages to load or find there what he’s looking for. The visually clear and stylish look, content that interests your audience, fast loading time, and easy navigation from page to page provide more comfortable user experience and give the customer a reliable impression of your business.
A few basic things. You should be at least a little worried if:
- your site load slowly
- the user cannot find what he’s looking for on your site
- your website doesn’t provide enough customer contacts
- text and images scale correctly on desktop, but not on the phone or tablet screen
- your website’s address starts with the letters http:// and the words ”Not secure” or ”Not protected” appear in the address field
Or maybe your site has already disappeared into cyberspace, and a Google search shows error 404!
A high-quality website can easily be found online, loads quickly, and works on all devices 24/7. It’s also stylish in appearance and safe for the user.
A random web visitor gets an idea of your business within seconds when clicking on your site. At that time, he needs to be convinced that your site (and business) can provide the solution to the problem to which he’s looking for an answer. This should be told on your front page right away in the first paragraph. However, even before designing the content and layout, you should have a clear idea of your desired audience: who are they and what information are they possibly looking for on your site?
Also, pay attention to the appearance and ease of use. The visually clear and stylish look, fast loading time and easy navigation from page to page make the customer feel more comfortable on your site and give them a reliable image of your business.
If you also want your site to increase sales or strengthen your brand, then it’s not enough that the visitor stays there for a few seconds and then goes away. The site must also be able to activate him to perform the actions you want, add conversions: contact you, ask for advice or more information, subscribe to a newsletter, request an offer, or directly place an order. In addition to the contact form, make sure that your site has a variety of contact options (phone number, email address, postal address, directions to your facility) and basic information about your company.
The first page a visitor ends up on is often just the front page, but please note that he may also end up on your site by chance, click directly on the product page or contact page, etc. Each page should therefore have enough internal links to lead the visitor forward. What should the site structure be like, and which pages are linked to each other? In this case, you need to think about where you want the visitor to click next. Is the correct path home > product page(s) > contact form or perhaps something else?
The most important thing, however, is that the company’s product or service concept is clear and understandable to the visitors immediately on the front page. Type short sentences and paragraphs, focus on the main issues. Avoid an information flow! Web design research found that a crowded web design is the most common mistake small businesses make when designing a website, confusing visitors, and making them hit the back button.
Also, make it clear: Why is it your company that can offer a better solution to the visitor’s problem than others? Parse text into short paragraphs, one thing/paragraph. Use subtitles, a font size large enough, and the most common, easy-to-read fonts.
Please leave space between the texts and the images. The images bring variety to the text, but you should use them carefully and only when they are directly related to the text. Avoid large images as they slow down the site. The optimal image size is 100-200 KB, but also remember to optimize image files.
High-quality websites that are of interest to your target audience are:
- search engine optimized, i.e., easily found online
- responsive, i.e., working on all devices
- stylish looking
- safe for visitors (SSL certificate)
- clear in structure and easy to navigate
- load quickly (this is influenced by server location, theme selection, number and compatibility of add-ons, image optimization, and caching)
- the main issue, the company’s product, and service concept, has been explained clearly and understandably on the front page
- ”small is beautiful” regarding the text length and the quantity of images
- the site has enough visitor activating functions that generate conversions
- contacting you is made easy for the visitor
A few words about site security
Why do other web addresses start with http:// – and others https:// prefix and what’s the difference between them?
Both are protocols that enable traffic between the browser and the server when the user’s browser retrieves information from a website on your server. An unsecured connection starts with http://, the protected connection has a https:// format. In the latter case, the address bar has a lock symbol or, when using Google Chrome, the text ”Safe” is also displayed.
Thus, the former http:// protocol does not protect the connection between the site and its user, which can be a risk if the site has an online store that asks for customers’ personal data, bank IDs, passwords, usernames, payment card information, etc. This may drive visitors away from your site. A secure connection, on the other hand, means that the site has an SSL certificate that allows you to encrypt the connection between the visitor and the server on the website.
The website also requires regular maintenance, so make sure your site is up to date. Do the links work, are the latest version of the software running, have add-ons been updated, and the site backed up regularly?
As a subscriber to WebsiteForum, you’ll receive free use of your WordPress website – and maintenance tools, as well as technical support for one month (and if agreed even after that). If you want to focus on other things and attach a continuous Online hosting service to your website subscription, just let me know.
Safe navigation!
Tuomas Tikanoja
Your Online Web Designer
WebsiteForum
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