Web Design & Marketing Blog

What Makes A Good Website?

Category: Blog

Written by Estevan Montoya

If you are like anyone else, then you want to have good things. I am not talking about being selfish, but honestly, who wants to fail? It's amazing, I see people that have a great business plan, great products, and great customer service, yet, when you find their website, you wonder "What Happened?!?" For instance, I knew a well known pastor that was looked up in the Bible college I attended. He had a few books, and was asked to speak all across the state of California. When I looked up this "great man" and his church, I was surprised to find out his church web site looked HORRIBLE, kinda like it belonged Ugly Website blog post.

There is a difference from a good website and a bad website, yet people think that JUST having one is ok, no matter how it looks. Listen, on the web, looks do matter. A good website can make or break your business. So to better understand why you need a good website, consider this: You website represents your business and brand. Therefore, how well does your website represent? After being involved in designing websites and blogs, I have found that there are several elements that make a good website:

What Makes A Good Website?

Clean Layout

I know you've seen site where you just can't seem to figure out what is going on. Everything is kinda just ALL over the place. Things don't flow. Ads might be everywhere or the links are in a weird place. Maybe you can't tell the difference from an ad and the content. Maybe there are 4 content bars with randomly placed ads. What is wrong with this picture? The layout is not clean. There is no flow or "feel" to the website, other than confusion.

Yet, I know you've been to those websites that make it easy to find content. You know where you are in the page. You can easily find information. You can trust that what you are reading is genuine information, and not an ad. As you scroll down, you know where to find the navigation bar if you need it. Everything about the site makes it easy to use. Why is that? Because is has a clean layout that is easy to read at a first glance.

Fresh Style

You know, it looks up to date with the times. It has a sense of class to it. You look at the website and think, "This is a sharp looking website". They style that we are seeing more and more is the "web 2.0" style. It has social media integration. There is very little animation going on, and it there is, it is normally user activated, like clicking a box or scrolling. If your site is "different", then it normally is still very simple with a clean layout.

The sad thing is, when people try to think outside the box in web design, they normally over do it, and a website ends up being to complex and hard to use. That is the opposite of fresh. When I think of fresh, I think of being refreshed. Kinda like being crammed and tired, and then getting home to hot shower and nice bed to relax in. I don't want to feel stressed all day long, so I get refreshed. Yet when it comes to websites, there are some that are just stressful, and when you leave, then you feel refreshed. That is not good. Rather, you want people to find your website, and just looking at it makes them feel comfortable. Yes, it may be unique. Yes, it may have a difference style. All at the same time, a person can visit it and leave without feeling overwhelmed. That's refreshing.

Easy To Navigate

This is HUGE in website development. It revolves around the little section on top that helps people find their way around your website. Though that place is vitally important, websites are are growing. With a website that has multiple blog posts in different categories and several pages, along with social media to keep up with, a website can get a little confusing. That is why east navigation is important. If people can't what they want, or they get lost in your website, then the will leave. You want to guide them through your website, or navigate them. That is why only having a nav bar on the top won't do it any more. There are now areas like sidebars and footers. The problem is that people clutter these areas with more ads then helpful information. Most people block those sections out because of all the ads. 

Yet, if executed properly, one can have easy to find information in all three sections as well as ads. Something to consider about using that space is this: Why work so hard to get people to your website only to have them leave by clicking an ad? You should have more in your side bar and footer about your business instead of paying for traffic that takes them away. I am not ruling out sidebar ads, I am just in more favor of keeping people on your website and helping them find their way around.

Strong Content

Last, but not least, my hobby horse...content. This is the reason they found your website. They were looking for something and found your website, therefore you must give them what they came for, or they will leave. To help with content being strong, it must also be targeted. If you have a website up that has a lot of random topics, then a person may enjoy one or two pages/posts, but the will not look at you as an authority on the subject. This will cause them to leave and find someone who is. Yet, when your content is targeted and relevant, people can trust your information, then most likely keep coming back. The content is the meat of your business website. Without it, people will go somewhere else to be fed, no matter how fresh and clean your website is.