9 Tips for Excellent Website Design

It’s probably easy to think that an excellent website design is one which simply looks good.  Those who think they know a little bit about search engine optimisation, or SEO, may also tell you that keywords and meta tags are crucial elements.  It’s true that these factors all come into building the perfect website. However, things are actually a little more complex than that.

Thanks to various changes Google has made to its algorithms over the years, how we build websites is constantly changing.

Yes – there are cheap and easy ways to build sites using simple programs and schemes. But are you necessarily giving your visitors the quality content they crave?

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What elements should a good website have?  What makes some of the best websites stand out from the rest?  What’s more – what is going to drive your traffic?  Is it flashy visuals, solid content, or a complex web of backlinks?  Cases may vary – but we’ve rounded up some great ways you can be sure to build a fantastic website that your audience will want to visit again and again.

High-Performance Teams Make Excellent Website Designs

Above all, a great website performs well.  This should be pretty obvious!  However, by this, your site needs to be technically proficient.  That means search engines should be able to crawl through and find everything they need to index you correctly. It also means that your website should be fast and laid out in a logical pattern. And most importantly, you should give your visitors the answers and support they need sooner rather than later.

Technical SEO is a huge part of building the perfect website.  As the name suggests, sometimes things can get more than a little involved, but it is all worthwhile.  An experienced SEO expert and web development team will help you fine-tune these aspects.  Good technical SEO will help Google and other search engines prioritise you to the right people.  It is not just about keywords!

Great Aesthetics and Ease of Use

At the head of this guide, we mentioned looks.  As your parents probably told you once or twice, looks aren’t everything!  However, it would be best never to discount the looks when building the perfect website.  While the ideal design and look will obviously differ from person to person, you should think carefully about producing a website that is easy to use and refreshingly simple.

User experience is front and centre of modern SEO.  Considering how easily visitors can use your site across multiple devices would be best.  What about mobile browsers?  Can visitors easily read your content?  Are you linking to useful pages, or do your visitors have to spend much time wandering around to find where to go?

An excellent user interface is quick to use and memorable for all the right reasons.  Keep your message and ethos clear, and ensure you prioritise keeping your visitors away from that back button.  The more awkward and unappealing your site is, the more likely they will click off and go elsewhere. Be careful!

It’s Crucial to Keep the Hackers and Thieves at Bay

Making sure your site is entirely secure is crucial.  In this day and age, any websites which don’t use the HTTPS protocol, at least, are falling way behind the pack.  One of the first things you should do with your site is entirely secure it.  Ensure your security certificates are up to date, and ensure you regularly maintain your site.

You are going to need to establish and demonstrate trust.  Do you accept payments through your site?  Make sure to let customers know that their money is entirely safe.  This isn’t just going to put your visitors’ minds at ease, but it will help Google understand that you are serious about keeping their searchers safe.  Any loose threads or hints that you aren’t looking after your site will be flagged.  Naturally, this means you will fall down the search rankings.

Constantly update your software, check your SSL, and make sure you are ironclad.  Choose a reputable web developer and host who can protect you against all modern threats.  Otherwise, you will risk falling prey to the worst kind of attacks.  That doesn’t look good for your online presence, nor will it benefit your visitors.  Protect the people you are appealing to at all costs!

Upwardly Mobile

We have covered some of this above, but it’s worth repeating.  We are in the middle of a massive mobile revolution!  If your website is not already super fast and ready for mobile devices, you will risk falling even further down the rankings.

Your website must be easy to navigate and read across all devices.  This may sound like a big ask, but it’s easier to attend to than you think.  Fantastic website builders and content management systems like WordPress will let you build a completely responsive site.  This means you only need to develop one design, and your CMS will do the rest to morph it into multiple devices.

There is no excuse for building a desktop-friendly site on its own. Google is thinking more and more about its mobile users.  This is to such an extent that mobile-friendly sites receive priority in search listings.  Mobile sites are less cluttered and are much more streamlined than desktop equivalents.  Therefore, visitors can always expect a brilliant, smooth and speedy experience.

Ultimately, it’s all about cutting down visitor hassle – so they stick with you, buy from you, and repeatedly return to you!  Simple!

You’re Clear, Concise, and Relevant

Being relevant, clear and on-message is so essential.  Google understands that its searchers are looking for answers to their problems.  Therefore, your content and message must be entirely on point.  You need to present an apparent ethos and branding and to think carefully about the questions that your visitors are likely to ask!

It would be best if you didn’t ever waffle or go off-topic.  It would be best if you were streamlined and straightforward.  People will not want to spend ages looking for answers from you!  The best sites give answers right away, not through hours of deep digging.  Google knows this, and now you do, too!

Irrelevant content is always going to be a deal-breaker.  Google is clamping down more than ever on sites which stuff keywords, for example.  This is known as a black hat approach.  Black hat SEO surrounds throwing keywords out randomly without any purpose or plan.  Meanwhile, White hat SEO makes sure to partner keywords relevant to any content.  It means that people can find content with specific phrases and will get to read content that matters to them.

A good website should never trick people into visiting.  Be concise, relevant and clear.

Are You Search Engine Friendly?

Many people forget that keeping friendly with search engines is all part of the puzzle.  We’ve briefly examined technical SEO above, but the points are worth discussing further.  As well as communicating clearly to visitors and searchers, your site should be indexed and show crawlers and bots what they can expect from you when they visit.

This is crucial so that Google, for example, knows exactly where to put you and what to do with you regarding rankings and appealing to the right people.  The more your site communicates with search engines, the more confident crawlers will be at prioritising your content.  It just makes sense – Google is your friend!

You’ll need to work with a web development team with years of expertise in fine-tuning SEO and search engine communications behind the scenes.  Set up a solid, adaptable framework that is easy to manage in case you need to make any future changes.

Out of Date could Mean Out of Pocket!

This is crucial.  Not all websites used to have blogs, but you’ll probably find that this has changed a lot!  That’s because Google re-indexes you the more content you produce.  Therefore, it makes sense that your website should post regular features and blog posts on topics relevant to your audience.  After all, you are only going to catch a small number of fish with a handful of worms!

However, again, there needs to be a balance.  You can’t expect to attract engaged visitors if all you produce is lifeless content barely relevant to their needs.  Think carefully about what your visitors are looking for.  What features would you want to read about when visiting your site?  If you can, try to build a content plan and stick to it wherever possible.

Ditch the Cheesy Media When you Can

Last but not least, you should always consider carefully the type of media you use and the quality of your content.  For example, always try to use high-resolution images and videos that are relevant to your visitors.  You could create high-quality video content, for example, and share it with your readers to help them understand a specific area of your business.  Moreover, video content is proven to engage well with many people.  That’s because it is easy to digest and often very entertaining!

Try to avoid cheesy stock photos and pictures that look as though you’ve pulled them from Google Image Search.  Great business websites, for example, make sure to use actual photos of their teams!  This means you can show your visitors exactly who you are and what you do.  There’s often no better way to create a sense of humanity around your brand.

High-quality media matters because it is so eye-catching.  You need to pick the right content, position it well, and make sure it looks good across all devices.  Again, with a solid CMS interface such as WordPress, this shouldn’t ever be too difficult.  It’s another good reason to work with a web development team that offers a streamlined CMS service to ensure you hit the ground running.

Why Your Development Team Matters

There are a few website builders out there who can make it look like setting up a great site is very easy.  Sure – it’s simple to get up and running in a few hours, but these sites will not perform very well in the long term.  The visual choices available to you are limited, as is the support you can receive.  Many website builders outsource customer service and care and don’t have an in-house or fully qualified team that is entirely hands-on with your website.

With a fully-fledged website, designed by professionals at a private firm, you are going to reap incredible benefits from years to come.  You’ll receive a website which not only looks great from the get-go, but which also outperforms your rivals over years of online presence.  What’s more, if you want to tweak or hone your site, you will have access to experts in SEO who can help you along the way.  You only need to call your development team and get the required support in minutes.

SEO CoPilot is a company that genuinely cares about producing outstanding results for all our clients.  Once we set you up with a website, we monitor it and develop it as it grows.  Setting up a website means more than just building a design and letting it go free.  It means maintaining it and ensuring it stays relevant for years.

Are you looking for a great website?  Choose a team with years of SEO and developmental experience for the best results.  Call us here at SEO CoPilot today, or get in touch via web form, and we’ll call you.