Whether you decide to use your website simply as an expanded version of a business card and company presentation, or whether you actively sell through your website, there are a few basic rules you should follow to get the most out of your website.

Configured Data Collection (Analytics)

The top priority before launching a website is to set up analytics codes to collect data on visitor behavior. Without data collection, it’s impossible to evaluate what’s happening on the site, and you won’t be able to improve it. We spend dozens of hours in the analytics tool’s interface, trying to identify the website’s weak spots. Are many visitors leaving on a particular subpage? If you know this, you can take action. You can change the content, add conversion elements, merge it with another subpage, or simply remove it. Everything you do is aimed at improving the customer’s user experience on the site. Analytics tools collect anonymized data and are GDPR-compliant.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

How can a search engine provide a visitor with relevant content when there are dozens, hundreds, or perhaps even thousands of websites on the internet offering the same products and services? After a search term is entered, the search engine selects all indexed pages (pages that have been visited by search engine robots and are marked for indexing by the website owner) containing content that matches the search query, and then ranks them based on hundreds of its own criteria, each of which is assigned a different weight.

The role of SEO as a distinct field within digital marketing is to write the text and code of a website so that it meets as many of the criteria as possible that search engines take into account when ranking results. From the user’s perspective, these criteria can be divided into two categories.

1. Visible factors—that is, those that influence customer behavior on the website (content and text length, which search engines can also read, as well as navigation and design, which influence customer behavior on the website).
2. Technical parameters that are part of the code and are not visible to visitors (we would also include external links from other sources here).

Fast Website

Web pages must load quickly. No one wants to wait 3 seconds or more for a page to load. The longer a visitor waits, the greater the chance that they’ll close the page before it even opens. The same applies to search engines. Search engine bots crawl the entire internet every day and know exactly how fast your website is. Slow websites are penalized and ranked lower in search results.

Clear navigation and website structure

Individual menu items should be organized into logically related groups so that a visitor looking for information can tell at a glance which section to find it in. If you have many subpages and are forced to use two or more menu levels, the organization of the navigation becomes even more important. It is essential to choose a logical tree-like structure for the website, which helps not only visitors but also search engine crawlers better understand the content and improves SEO.

A clear layout and easy-to-read page

Clear, legible, and sufficiently large font in the menu, as well as in the text itself, is very important for the user experience. Headings and subheadings should be highlighted. It is recommended to use sufficient paragraphs and subheadings in the text. Visually separated sections of text are also beneficial, as they break the page up into several smaller sections. On pages optimized for mobile phones, menu items and other clickable links should have sufficient spacing to prevent users from accidentally opening a page other than the one intended when tapping with their finger on a smartphone.

High-quality content

In the past, content was written primarily for search engines; the content itself and its readability for visitors were secondary. As search algorithms have improved and penalties for aggressive optimization have been introduced, high-quality content is increasingly being prioritized. And search engines award “points” for that. Are you wondering how they assess a website’s quality? For example, by how much time a visitor spends on the site, whether they click elsewhere and continue reading, or leave immediately.

Elements of Credibility

Do you also prefer to shop at trusted online stores, or do you rely on a friend’s recommendation or a TV commercial? On your website, you’re in the opposite position. You need to convince the customer that your company—which is unknown to them—is the right choice, that they won’t lose their money, that you’re trustworthy, that you’re still in business, and that you have satisfied customers. Add customer testimonials to your website, or even Google reviews or social media reviews, which are more credible than manually written text on the site. Add photos—your own photos, photos of your employees, and photos of your office. If you have certifications, include them on the website. Publish a phone number and address where customers can reach you.

Call-to-Action Elements

The goal of every webpage should be to prompt the visitor to take action. Whether that’s ordering a product or service, signing up for a newsletter, downloading an attachment, clicking on a phone number, starting a chat, filling out a contact form, or anything else they need to do besides just reading after opening the page. If you don’t have conversion elements on your page, the visitor won’t be able to take any action and therefore won’t get any closer to making a purchase. The only options left for them are to call you, send an email, or visit a brick-and-mortar location if you have one. In most cases, the lack of elements that prompt visitors to take action results in a significant number of lost customers.

Responsive Website

In 2019, the number of visitors accessing websites via mobile phones surpassed the number of visitors accessing them via desktop computers and laptops. It is therefore extremely important for websites to be responsive—meaning they display equally well on different screen sizes—and to be optimized for mobile phones.

What Should Not Be on the Website

A wide variety of colors and various animated elements were used in the early 21st century, but nowadays they are no longer recommended for websites. Unless you run an advertising portal or an online magazine, ads from third-party sites can also deter visitors.

It often happens that unnecessary items, such as GDPR information, are included in the main menu. Of course, these are required by law, but they belong in the footer or somewhere at the bottom of the page—definitely not in the menu.

A high-quality website comes at a cost . However, if you’re serious about your online presence or sales, it really isn’t worth skimping on website development. The more revenue your website generates, the faster your return on investment will be.