Before starting to list what are the factors that make a website good I should tell you that all successful websites have 2 things in common: they are enjoyable (beautiful colors, great templates that make users to like or love them) and they are (in some degree) simple (the users don't have to think hard how to browse the site and what are the meaning of every section on the page). The content is varies from one website to another - it's what you put online - and it's a completely different story.
As you already know, websites are powerful marketing tools in promoting any business. But there are a few factors that improves the quality of your website: visual appealing, accessibility, user friendly and functionality. And it all starts from the homepage, the very first page most of the users usually land when visiting a new website they did not hear about before. If they find your website using the search engines and land on any of your posts, sooner or later they will get to your homepage, the root of your website.
This is why your first page is very important and it needs to be done in a manner to make it simple and very easy to use. Any of your visitors should understand quickly (most of) the structure of your website from your homepage.
Plan your website structure and homepage before you start creating them
When you are having a custom website you can ask for the web designer's advice, his experience will help you decide the best way your first page should look. If you are getting a free CMS (there are a lot over the internet like joomla, wordpress, drupal and many others) you will have available some options about how your homepage should look, but it's better to ask for advice in this case also.
Anyway, you should always plan before start working on the website. It can happen that you start working and, after a time, you realize that there is a better way for your website structure and homepage and you'll have to work harder to recover the lost time. In worst case scenario, you can start all overt again.
The second important thing is that once you've decided you should keep a specific format, don't start altering your idea while creating it.
The template for your website should contain several pages, including the homepage
There are 2 ways to approach the creation of a website:
- you want to create something that can easily work online with some content, the second step would be creating or selecting a template for what you have (this usually happen when you select a free CMS)
- you start from a template and create the functionality depending from some images the web developer gets (this usually happen with custom websites)
When selecting an existing template for your website or deciding what a custom template should contain assure yourselves that structure of the website is very well defined. That mean that you should know exactly how every page of the site should look (as design, not as content) before approving the template and sending it further, to web development.
Knowing all these, you should pay attention to some rules about an usable and accessible homepage. Some of these rules apply to the rest of your website.
How to make your homepage usable
Efficiency
Your website homepage should be efficient for any Internet user (even the unexperienced ones), to allow him or her to accomplish simple tasks even he/she never interacted with your system before.
Easy to learn and remember
Any visitor should use your homepage easy even when it's the first time he is accessing your website. When he learns the rules that apply on your site it will be very easy to find what he is interested in. Even more: he will remember all the stuff the next time he will visit.
No errors
It's very important that your homepage (and your website) should not contain errors. This will block some users to browse your website and it does not look. Some of the users may not return if they find error on your site and, more, you don't correct them as soon as you find about them. That's why it's important to ask for feedback from your visitors.
How to make your homepage accessible
Use descriptive links
The homepage in particular should have links with information about the meaning of the website, about what you are offering (products and services), about you and your business. That will lead the visitors directly to what he wants insted browsing from page to page.
Make it available for everyone
That means that everyone connected to Internet should be able to access your website, no matter if they are using PCs, laptops, tables, smartphones and any other gadgets (lately even your refrigeration can browse the Internet, but I am sure that accessing websites using the refrigerator is the last thing on your mind right now). So, use plugins for different devices to assure the accessibility.
Use sitemaps and search options
This will only help the visitors to find whatever they wants on site instead browsing from page to page. Sitemaps also provide the structure of the website in a manner everyone can understand. It's important that sitemaps and search options to be on homepage, but they should also be on every other page on your website.
The search engine optimisation part is very important for websites - they have to match certain criteria in order to appear as often as possible in the search results on Google and Bing. SEO (search engine optimization) starts from site / online store / platform development because it involves a specific structure of the pages, it involves an ease to browse for the visitors (for your clients) and it involves quicky loading when accessed. Our sites are delived already optimized, but if you have already a solution developed by someone else we analize your website and we offer consultancy - we'll tell you about the options you have about to boost its visibility and organic traffic.
We develop websites to present your activity to the world and applications for internet that help you organize your activity as eficient as possible and without loses (in money, time and energy) wherever you are. Do you need an online store or a tool available for you anytime? We can develop that as long you reserve a domain name and some hosting space, the app is our job.
We develop web applications and mobile apps (Android) for various companies and organisations according to their specifications and requirements. The apps are being used by employees and partners to work more efficient and with less costs for the company: the web applications can be accessed through the browsers installed on smartphones and tablets but the usage of a complementary mobile app can make efficiency to go up (it can increase the communication between people or it can show things not so important on PC).
We offer consultancy about the informatic system you have installed and we offer sollutions to make the more efficient, to improve and develop them further, we analize the activities inside your company and / organisation and we offer sollutions for the projects you want to develop.
