Not to scare you, but, um… is your website designed properly? 

You know, does it provide your readers with an easy-to-navigate, effortless experience? Are they able to quickly find all of the information they need? Do your design choices align with your goals? Is there any room for confusion?

If any of the above questions have you second-guessing—keep reading for the X factors that make up a high-performing, well-designed website!

A welcoming, interesting first impression

As your business’s virtual storefront, your website has a big job to do: welcoming in your potential new clients with a figurative smile—and your web design has a pretty large role in creating an inviting space for those new readers.

Intuitive, easy-to-follow design

When you click on a new website, there’s some level of pre-understanding that you have, because you’ve scrolled through thousands of sites before. 

You’re assuming there will be a navigation bar to direct you to either learn more about someone’s story, or shop their products, or read their blog or contact them.

You expect there to be a clear headline explaining what the business does, who they do it for, and how you can benefit from a relationship with the business. 

You’re planning on being able to scroll through each page and learn something new about the brand as you go, while being visually stimulated and engaged.

...and if you don’t experience any of these things, chances are you’re either going to be confused, disappointed, or both.

Visual elements that are striking, but not overpowering

I don’t know about you, but one of the most frustrating things to encounter on a new website is a a bunch of wild design elements that make everything hard to find, hard to read, and hard to look at for more than a few seconds. 

Every good web design incorporates unique elements that will interest the reader, without confusing them. After all, the goal is to get people to stay on the site and complete whatever the call-to-action is—not to show off all the crazy ways you can display something. Clarity should always come first, because without clarity, there will be no conversion.

Aids SEO strategy

While design strategy often comes first, and aesthetics are vital to keeping your website reader engaged, SEO is essential. After all, it’s likely what got the reader there in the first place!

Good design is always respectful of what needs to be done for SEO: like optimizing an H1 headline (the biggest heading size on a given page) so it's easy for Google to read, not crowding the site with too many complicated elements, and helping the reader along their journey. There’s nothing search engines love more than a positive user experience—and we web designers are well-versed in what makes Google happy! 

Hosted on the right platform

Something extremely important to consider when launching your website is selecting the right platform for your business’s purposes. Some hosting sites have different capabilities than others, and it’s always a pain for the user to navigate if you try too hard to make a site work that simply doesn’t have the options you need.

All of the options out there can often seem overwhelming, and everyone seems to have a different opinion.

Here’s how I see it…

Shopify is best for product-based businesses.

Squarespace is best for beginners, or anyone who wants maintaining a website, blog, and SEO to be as easy as possible, and all in one place.

If you’re interested in learning more about how working with a professional to design your website can improve your brand’s success, check out my web design services here, or inquire about working together!