If you’re considering developing a website for your brand, business or project there are essential things that should definitely be included in the completed site. After years of working with hundreds of clients and thousands of projects, we have a lot of knowledge about what the essentials of a great website are, so read on to find out.
But first – We want to highlight that not all websites are created equal – because they don’t all have the same functionality or purpose.
For example – A website that sells physical products (ecommerce) will have completely different needs/functionality than a website for a non-profit that collects donations. The process of defining the project scope is the biggest hurdle that a developer and business owner have to overcome and sometimes it goes like this:
Business owner – “I just want a “basic site” that is similar to Google, with some parts of Facebook.”
Developer – “Ok, that will take a tonne of time and expense to create, because Google is a search engine and Facebook is a social media platform. The two have completely different functionality.”
Business Owner – “Well can you just do half of what Google does and half Facebook? I don’t need chat box or search functions because I don’t have much money to fund the project.”
Developer – “Oh boy.”
It’s a slippery slope, but hopefully this article will help you understand some of the essentials of a great website which make it user friendly, fast and professional.
The purpose of a website is to be the digital space where you can highlight the who, what, where, when and why about something. For business owners, a website is one of the most valuable tools to have, but your website can also make your business look less appealing if it doesn’t include the following details listed below.
Here are the minimum essentials of a great website:
- A Logo – It’s the first thing people notice – read this article on how to save on logo development
- Favicon – The small icon in the internet browser tabs
- Color Scheme – branding 101
- Great Fonts – branding 101
- Social Media Links – for marketing and connection
- Essential Pages – Homepage, About Us, Services/products, Contact, Blog (optional)
- Contact Form and Contact Details – so people can get in touch with you
- Enticing Promotional Offer or Opt In – the lead magnet for your brand
- Responsiveness (works on all devices) – because 50% of online users are mobile
- Fast Hosting – because load time is everything in today’s fast-paced world
- Email Integration – how you connect with people after they visit your site
Great website developers are hard to find or work for agencies, where they’re often buried three feet below the sales team, so communicating with them directly can be tough.
Try using smaller companies that do things in house because chances are that you’ll actually get to talk to the person making your site, or check out platforms like Codeable – which connects business owners directly to developers.
