5 Characteristics of a Good Website
If you’re an entrepreneur or small business, you need a solid website. It’s arguably one of the most important pieces to your marketing puzzle. It can be used to reel in potential customers and make sales while you sleep. But even if you have a great website design, it’s likely to fall flat without the right elements.
In this article, we’ll discuss the characteristics of a good website and how you can use them to increase traffic and sales.
Each of these qualities will help with user experience, structure, and messaging to improve your marketing efforts. They’ll also help you appear in search engines, which means greater visibility for your brand.
1 - Connect With Your Target Audience
One common mistake is thinking your website should be all about you. While your website is a reflection of your business, the goal is to reach and connect with your target audience.
To keep your website visitors on-page and interested:
First, you need to define your target audience. You can do this by creating what’s called a customer persona. Who do you serve? What problems do they have? How do those problems make them feel? Get specific about their age, occupation, lifestyle, and struggles to nail down your messaging. Social media is a great place to learn about your target audience.
Write more “you” statements than “I” statements. You can check if you’re using too many “I” statements by using the control F function to search “you” and “I” on your pages. You want to be sure the “you” statements far outnumber the “I” statements, meaning you spend more time talking about your customers.
Answer the question, “why should they care?”, to show the true benefits of what you have to offer. When your audience visits your website, why should they care about what you have to offer? What results can they expect? What will they experience after working with you?
The goal is for your audience to feel seen and heard. You want them to visit your website and feel as if you’re speaking directly to them.
To solidify the connection, include photos of yourself and your social media links. You want them to know there’s a real person behind the website.
2 - Be Intentional With Your Headings
Why are headings important? Headings are the largest text on your website. They’re your H1, H2, and H3. Headings are the first thing people read when they visit your site. You have just a few seconds to grab and keep their attention before they decide to leave, so you need to give them a really great first impression. This is especially true for skimmers, who only read the large text.
Your headings need to quickly and powerfully communicate the value of your business. They should be clear and compelling to make your audience want to learn more. Give them a glimpse of the quality content to follow.
Headings should be:
Relevant to the page or section
Clear and concise
About 10-15 words long
Interesting enough to encourage further reading
You’ll want to create an H1, the largest text, to tell what the page or section is about. Then, you’ll want to add a subheading underneath, in smaller text, to elaborate on the heading and pique further interest. Headings and subheadings are great places to highlight the benefits of your business. Use them wisely.
3 - Create a Spiderweb With Internal Links
An internal link is text or a button that leads to another page on your website. You can create a link spiderweb by adding links throughout your site that lead to relevant pages so the reader can access information quickly without having to scroll or open the menu.
Well-structured spiderwebs help users navigate your site and help Google understand your website better.
Here are a few ways you can implement internal links on your site today:
On your website Home page, in the section that mentions what services you offer, include a link to your dedicated Services page.
On your Services page, include a link to contact you or book a consultation.
If you have a blog, include a link in your blog post to a service you offer so the reader can get more help.
Add relevant internal links like this and you’ll have created a strategic spiderweb that beautifully intertwines your site’s content.
Spiderwebbing internal links creates a seamless user experience and is a huge help in keeping site visitors on your page. People are more likely to buy from you if they find exactly what they’re looking for without having to dig for it.
4 - Make It Skimmable
The majority of readers will not read the fine print on your website. Make sure your content is skimmable so your reader can absorb the important information quickly and easily. According to this article, research has showed only 16% of users read every word on the page. Optimize your website for those who will quickly scan the content.
To help analyze your website’s skimmability, ask yourself:
Do the headings give enough information about what I offer?
Are the headings appealing enough to keep them on-page?
Do I have photos, infographics, or media for visual appeal?
Are paragraphs broken up with bullets or numbers?
Can I make anything more concise?
Do I use jargon that would make the content difficult to understand?
I also recommend getting a second set of eyes on your website. Ask your friends, family, and people in your network to give their feedback. They can let you know if anything is unclear or too lengthy so you can edit accordingly.
5 - Use Clear Calls-To-Action
Every website needs calls-to-action. Calls-To-Action, or CTA’s, are the buttons on your website that tell the reader what to do next. Some Call-To-Action phrases include:
Book A Call
Learn More
Contact Me
View Services
Get Started
Request Information
CTA’s should be clear, obvious and easily accessible. I recommend adding one in the very top section of your website that leads to a contact form. This way, the reader has a quick and easy way to get in touch with you for more information.
After reading each section, what should your visitors do next? Whatever that is, create a button for them to do it. Don’t make them scroll to find the menu in order to navigate there.
You want to create a seamless user experience. Bonus points if the Call-To-Action is persuasive or creates a sense of urgency, like SIGN UP TODAY or BOOK A FREE CALL.
BONUS: Search Engine Optimization
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is using keywords on your website in order to appear in search results. It’s one of the most important website features for those who want to show up on Google.
I recommend finding an SEO tool that suits your budget and business needs. For example, I use Keysearch because it’s affordable and easy to use.
Using your SEO program of choice, find keywords related to your niche that have high search volume and low competition.
Choose one keyword to focus on for each page of your website. That will be your primary keyword. Then, use secondary keywords - related to your primary keyword - to sprinkle throughout your content.
Your website builder should have some instructions on SEO as well.
One thing to keep in mind is to use your keywords naturally. Avoid keyword stuffing (throwing your keyword in every chance you get) because this can actually hurt your SEO.
Check out this article to learn more about how to add keywords to your website.
Conclusion: 5 Characteristics of a Good Website
Remember, even the prettiest web design will fail to impress without the right elements. You’ve worked hard on your business and offers. Let’s make sure your website is effective at showing the value you can bring to others.
Here’s a review of the essentials:
Connect with your target audience.
Use engaging headings.
Add relevant internal links.
Improve skimmability.
Use clear Calls-To-Actions.
BONUS: learn to implement SEO best practices.
If you have any questions or want a second set of eyes on your website, please feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to help.
If you enjoyed this post and would like extra help with your website, contact me here. I offer website audits and copywriting to give you a digital storefront worth bragging about.
