What Makes a Great Website
Your website is your (digital) face to the world. All businesses benefit from having a gorgeous web presence, whether you are a local services company or an international design firm… the internet is the first place your customers look for information on your business. You want to make it easy for prospects to find you, then bring them in to your business or make a purchase online.
So what makes a great website?
No matter your industry, there are certain key elements that make for an outstanding website. Since I love diamonds (who doesn’t?), I’ve distilled these into the 4 C’s.
1. Clean design
What do we mean by “clean” design? I’ll start with what we DON’T mean.
We’ve all been to those late 1990’s websites that feature all the (poor) design elements from the heyday of MySpace and Comic Sans font. If you need a reminder, check out The World’s Worst Website Ever. Even more modern sites fall prey to poor design, as seen in this HubSpot list here.
😵💫 What is happening here?
When you look at these sites, what comes to mind?
Clutter
OMG all the color
Who is this business?
What am I supposed to do??
Clean design means plenty of ‘white space’ or just plain old room to breathe for your content. It also means minimizing distracting elements (hello, ads, music, flashing text!), and anything that takes away from the goal your visitors have in mind when they visit your site.
The layout, use of color, and overall space of your site should be simple, direct and ultimately guide the visitor journey.
2. Consistent messaging
From page to page within your site, it’s important to keep the messaging consistent - including look and feel, imaging, and written voice. As a user visits your content areas, it should feel like one consistent message and brand. No jarring swaps of color, images, or drastic layout changes.
It’s all one site, and should provide a cohesive experience for your visitors
3. Clear content
Unorganized content makes it hard to purchase
Ever been to a site that offers so many different things you don’t know what to do or how to find anything? From the moment a visitor arrives at your website, it should be clear what your business does. Whether they found you through search, social media, or typed in your domain name directly, never leave them questioning what you do!
Clear, well-organized content, paired with impactful text and images, communicate your business offerings in a manner that educates the consumer before making a purchase decision.
And speaking of that purchase decision…
4. Call to action
Once you have a visitor on your site and you’re educating them through great content, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to take the next step! This means every page of your site should have a direct and simple Call to Action.
For an outstanding user experience, make it simple for visitors to take the next step, no matter where they are on your site. These calls to action can include things like “Contact Us”, “Purchase”, “Sign Up”, “Book Online” and more, depending on your business model and customer journey.
Whether a button, link, or click-to-call, your customer should be able to engage you from any page. After all, this is why we have websites in the first place!
Does your current site cover the 4 C’s of a great website?
If not, we can help - contact us to get started today!
