Does your business need a website check-up? If your website is underperforming, it may be that there are some things your team is missing.
Everyone talks about good website design, but do you really understand what that means? How can you tell if your website design, for example, is effective? What do you look for…especially if you don’t know what to look for?
It’s difficult to evaluate quality without defined criteria for gauging it. So, with that in mind, here are some fundamental components of good website design, as well as some questions to ask yourself to gauge your own.
1. Start with a strategy for your website.
The foundation of good website design is strategy. Even the most appealing, user-friendly website will fail if it fails to meet your company’s needs.
Therefore, consider this. When new visitors arrive at your site, do they have a clear idea of who you are and what you have to offer? Is your website’s design directing users to do what you want? Is your design guided by a clear strategy?
If this isn’t the case, your design isn’t quite as good as it could be. Use this checklist of questions to assess the efficacy of strategy in your website design:
- Is my business in the right category, and is it clear on my website?
- What is the goal of this website, and is it being met by the design?
- Who is my audience? Further, how has my design taken my target audience into account?
- Does the design encourage the right action?
What to Do After the Website Check-Up
Carefully define your brand. In addition, establish clear objectives, then match them up with your design. As a result, it’s much more likely for your website to succeed if it’s guided by a clear strategy.
2. Check the usability of your website.
There are practical concerns that go into effective website design. These include things like user-friendliness, speed, and security.
In addition, there are technical details that make it function well. These are things like sitemaps. All of these are part of usability. A lot of these details aren’t visible.
For example, when you key in a website’s URL, you don’t see its security. Usability, on the other hand, is a make-or-break issue for successful websites. Therefore, a visitor will likely leave if he or she cannot find what they are seeking.
Both search engines and visitors will notice if pages take too long to load. Therefore, to determine how usable your website is, consider the following:
- How long do my pages take to load, and will people get bored waiting?
- How simple is it to locate information?
- Is there a visitor search button?
- Are all of the links functional?
- Is the site compatible with various browsers?
- Is my website compatible with mobile devices?
- Have I kept client information secure?
- Have I made this clear to my audience?
What to Do After the Website Check-Up
Think about how you can make your site as user-friendly you can. Furthermore, go above and above in terms of security. Always protect consumers’ personal information.
3. Website design must be user-centric.
It’s true that beauty is subjective. However, there are some clear elements that should drive any good design.
The finest designs are always consistent with a brand’s image and aesthetic. In addition, they will always leave a good impression. On top of that, they will be simple and readable. They will also complement the information they’re conveying.
Consider the following to see how effective your website’s look is:
- Is my website’s design, consistent with my brand?
- Is the website’s design consistent throughout?
- Will the style appeal to my intended audience?
- What kind of vibe does the website give off—orderly or chaotic?
- Is it more sparse or crowded?
- Is it more formal or more playful and how does that relate to my objectives?
- Are pictures and other ornaments getting in the way of the message?
What to Do After the Website Check-Up
Remove any styles that seem to conflict with your brand’s ideals and image. In addition, check your logo. Make sure that you design and your logo are unified. Think about your target audience and adapt the style accordingly.
4. Check your content.
Readability and utility are two of the most important factors to think about while building content.
Readability is critical. If your visitors can’t see your material they won’t read it. Therefore, if it’s too small, in a pale hue, or in an unreadable font, your message will be lost.
However, usability is equally crucial. If your content doesn’t matter to your reader, you’ll lose him or her anyway.
Here are some things to ask yourself when evaluating the quality of your website content:
- Is it possible to read the typefaces I’ve chosen?
- Is there sufficient contrast between the background and font colors?
- Are all of the typefaces legible?
- Will the reader find this information useful?
- Is the content succinct while still being useful?
- Is it easy to find content because of the design?
What to Do After the Website Check-Up
Examine all of the text on your website to see if it successfully communicates your message. Will visitors be able to read the text, for starters?
Second, will they care about what they read? Choose a layout that makes all of your content accessible and readable.
5. Search engine optimization is critical.
Search engine optimization and social networking all start with great website design. There are various ways that the design of your website affects search optimization.
Are there a lot of visuals on your website, for example? If that’s the case, search engines won’t be able to find them.
You want search engines to understand what you’re showing. Therefore, always put ALT tags in the descriptions of your images.
Is your HTML code effective? If not, your search rankings may suffer. To guarantee that your website design is optimized, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are all of my photographs ALT-tag-optimized?
- Is my coding effective? For example, are there any unnecessary lines that could be removed?
- Have I selected the right keywords for the title tags? For instance, have I correctly managed the heading tags, the meta descriptions, and other fields?
- Is there a sitemap on my website?
What to Do After the Website Check-Up
In conclusion, don’t make the mistake of thinking that SEO and the website design are two different things. Consider how your design will affect your site’s search rankings and make changes as needed.
