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There are millions of websites on the internet, which makes having a standout page difficult. Spotting a poor website is easy, but pointing out all the elements of a good website takes a keen eye. What makes a good website? Explore the basic elements of a good website below and give yourself the best chance of online success.

Purpose

Before getting down to the nitty-gritty of web design, the first question to consider is what is the purpose of the website? Decide on the purpose of the website and what it should accomplish. If the goal is to create a website where you sell your products, consider if this is actually going to help customers buy products. Get ride of a webpage that doesn’t have a clear purpose.

Aesthetics

Everyone has experienced opening a hectic webpage with too many images, graphics, and poorly placed text. Most people will instantly close the webpage. Think about the purpose of the website and the intended target users when choosing a design style. Pay attention to general web design trends to help keep your website fresh. Avoid using a design style that incorporates skeuomorphism, or objects that are designed to mirror the style of real things. Always design with mobile compatibility in mind.

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The website is typically the first impression a customer has of a brand. The colors, fonts, layout and everything in between influence how customers perceive your brand. What impression do you want customers to take away when they use your website? There is a science to design, specifically, there is both psychology of color and psychology behind font choice. Understanding the basics of how fonts and colors can convey things in design can make a positive impact on making a good website.

Having an eye for design comes naturally to the design and development brand, Design By Volta. They understand the value of quality web design, what’s trending in modern sites, and produce custom high-quality web designs. Explore Design By Volta at designbyvolta.com and see first-hand what an aesthetically pleasing, branded website with a purpose looks like.

Relevant and Original Content

A strong website features original, quality content that is relevant to the brand and the target market. Images help explain key points, give users something different to look at, and help sell products and services. In the instance of an e-commerce website, high-quality photos showing multiple product angles are essential to the purpose of the site.

As a rule, if an image doesn’t have a clear purpose, get rid of it. The amount of images on a website impacts the page load speed. Too many large images that aren’t necessary will slow down the website. Never use out of focus or grainy images, and avoid using stock images. Choose an image style that fits the aesthetics of the site and align with the personality of the brand and stick with it.

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The right words matter just as much as using the right, relevant images. Always create original content that is engaging, reads with a consistent tone, and that is easy to read. Content should be clear and to the point, and direct users to action.

User-Friendliness

Site structure and navigation are important for achieving better SEO and Google site indexing, and better reader usability. Clear site navigation should be intuitive and simple. Place important calls-to-action at the top of the webpage since this is where most people look. Design with the “three-click rule” in mind – every webpage should be three clicks away from any other webpage on the site. The best websites reduce the amount of cognitive effort needed to navigate from one page to another.