4 Essential Elements to a Successful Website
1. Fresh content
Content should be regularly updated. For one, search engines LOVE new content. It will improve your rankings. Secondly, users expect to see up-to-date content. If your content is static or outdated, they will lose trust (and interest) in your site as resource.
2. Mobile accessibility/Responsive layout
More and more users are browsing on their tablets and phones; some stats say as much as 30% on tablets alone. Many of these users are only browsing on mobile devices. If your site doesn’t look right or function right on the mobile device, your user will leave frustrated and annoyed and likely never return. A mobile website or responsive layout (meaning the website responds to the device or screen size) will optimize the content and website for that particular device. For example, the content will be arranged to fit into a smaller, narrower space to minimize zooming and scrolling. Bandwidth-sucking elements such as large images or animations will be eliminated or replaced with mobile friendly technology. You can even feature various items that a mobile user is more likely to want or need such as directions or contact info! (Check out a previous article to learn more about mobile websites.)
3. User Friendly layout and design
You have only a few seconds to capture someone’s attention before they lose focus. There is an entire science to what parts of the page the eye goes to first, what text is most likely to be read and where to display specific information. Did you know most users never read past 3-4 lines? Large blocks of content are a turn-off! User friendly websites utilize this research to help you and your user communicate best.
A common mistake is to put any necessary or relevant information and cram it on the home page. This will only confuse and overwhelm the user. You want to create a clear and concise path for them to follow. More is less.
4. Good SEO
There are many elements that make up “good SEO” but the fact of the matter is that if someone cannot find your site, they will never use your site. Without good SEO your site is almost useless. You need keywording, optimized code and website marketing to name a few. Don’t ever think the job is done once the site is built. That is just the beginning.
A few years ago, having a website was a successful website. Nowadays, everyone and their mother has a website (my mother has at least 3). What makes a potential choose you over the competitor? These 4 are a few things that make your website rise to the top (and not just of Google rankings!) They are absolutely essential for a successful website.