Secrets to a Good Website.

My secrets to a good website:

1) Clearly state what you do. State the problem then explain how you resolve it.

2) Keep it updated. Refreshing the type and imagery triggers good things with the search engine algorithms. Do not park your website in permanent cemetery mode for years.

3) A responsive, mobile-friendly platform for your website is crucial since 95% of the internet is consumed on a mobile device these days.

4) Do not use poor or blurry imagery at any time. Include a short, looping hero video (a no-audio, abbreviated version of your main brand video.) Dont use any stock photos either. That just looks creepy and it is easily detectable. Viewers will correctly assume you don’t care very much about anything. Get some custom photos taken of your business and your products or services. Its worth it.

5) Is your website warm and inviting? Are you politely encouraging calls to action and offering direct communication?

6) Does the wording sound like you? There are over 1.5 billion websites, but your voice will separate your website from the others. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

7) The website should embody your logo and brand colors. Do not deviate from the form and spirit of your brand. This is when you carry the flag. For example, if your brand color is red, the website should be the “reddest thing” you have ever seen. That is branding.

8) Every business has unique audiences. Speak and cater to them. Only. This is not an opportunity to craft a comprehensive book report for the masses. You probably have one chance and three seconds for a visitor to get the right or wrong impression. The average time a human spends on a new website before bouncing off is literally, three seconds. That is what you are up against. You have to be interesting to the right people, right away.

9) Use Google Analytics to keep you informed about the state of your website, the ways it is getting discovered, the sources of your traffic, and the behaviors of your visitors. This free and available information is just stupid to ignore.

10) Include an origin story. Did you know one of the most popular sections of any business website is the “About Us” section? Why do you think that is? Because it is the most personal, real story section of the website and people are generally interested in how your brand evolved and which humans are behind it all. It looks sketchy if you don’t offer this and your legitimacy will be subconsciously in question.