Can you still recall the days when every website had flashy images, eye-popping animations, and crazy colour palettes? The internet was like this digital wonderland that captivated our senses and constantly left us in awe. But as time passed, the web evolved, and so did our tastes and preferences. Nowadays, good and bad websites seem like worlds apart.
So what are the important aspects of a good website in the modern age? A good website has the following characteristics: clear purpose, user-friendly navigation, responsive design, fast load times, visually appealing design, high-quality content, compelling call-to-action, contact information, security, and incorporates search engine optimisation (SEO).
What are the important aspects of a good website?
1) Clear purpose
Your business website shouldn’t just be a show-and-tell platform for your products and services. It should also be a means to tell your brand story, nurture customer relationships, and enhance user experiences.
Your website needs to reflect your business’ purpose at a glance. It becomes less about “what” you’re offering and more about “why” you’re offering it, “how” it adds value to the customers’ lives. Your website needs to communicate this in a matter of seconds.
A Nielsen Norman Group study shows users typically spend only 10 to 20 seconds on a web page before leaving. If they can’t identify what your business does within that short span, it means your website lacks a clear purpose. They’ll exit and you’ve lost a potential customer.
Australian companies like Aesop and Bonds understand this and have designed their websites to clearly communicate their purpose – offering premium skincare and comfortable clothing, respectively – right from the first click.
2) User-friendly navigation
Website navigation should be seamless and intuitive. Visitors should be able to find what they’re looking for in as few clicks as possible. The easier it is for users to navigate your site, the higher the chance they’ll stick around, explore, and eventually become a customer.
Pro tip: Take note of browsing patterns. Our eyes typically start at the upper left corner of a page and move right. Thus, placing important navigation links here could improve usability.
3) Responsive design
In today’s world, where people access the internet from a variety of devices – desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones – a good website needs to adapt to the screen size of these different devices. Ignoring responsive design can alienate a significant portion of your audience, much like a store ignoring a substantial segment of its customers.
Statistics show that in Australia alone, more than nine out of every ten people own a smartphone. This means a significant portion of your website traffic could be from these devices.
Moreover, Google’s Mobile-First Indexing initiative underscores the importance of responsive design. Websites that aren’t mobile-friendly can be penalised in search rankings, making them less likely to be discovered by potential customers.
