What Makes a Great Website, Part One

This blog post is part one in our series, covering what makes a great website. Stay tuned for part two, coming soon!

A website for your business is a no-brainer these days: it helps to convey who you are, what you do, and how you do it. Your website should be a central hub for your business. Where else can you point your audience that encapsulates every aspect of your business? 

That said, creating all of the elements necessary for a strong website isn’t simple. Here is a great starter list when it comes to curating the best content for your website:

A well-rounded home page. What are the first few things you want to convey to any visitor who lands on your site? Condense what is most important down to a few key points and highlight them on the homepage, this is an excellent way to get off on the right foot. Simplify what your company does, how it’s done, who you are, and how clients can contact you. Add visuals like photos or graphics for appeal and to help support the content.

An about page. One of the most important aspects of your business is who is running the show. An about page highlights who you are, and shares a story and glimpse into your personality. Also, show off employees and staff! People want to do business with people they know and with whom they can relate! Show website visitors why you’re unique, why they should work with you, and let them find something to connect with in your story. Building that human-to-human connection is something 100th Monkey fully understands, and we’re ready to help you craft a message. 

A products or services page. Potential clients need to know about the products or services you offer. Customers came across your page to help them solve a problem and find out what solutions you bring to the table. 

A contact page. Once new customers are sold on who you are and what you offer, they will want to connect immediately. Give them multiple ways to reach out, include an email address, a phone number and a street address, if you have a physical office space. Check emails regularly and have a voicemail greeting associated with the phone number you use so callers know they’ve reached the right place. Once a potential client reaches out, they’re ready to do business, or they may have a few questions. Be sure to follow up as soon as possible, before they seek another person to help them!

A clean design. Visiting a poorly designed website sticks with users for quite some time. If your site is hard to navigate, overstimulating, or just poorly organized, you risk losing potential business. Creating a clean, user-friendly doesn’t have to be rocket science, either; stick to simple images, a readable font, and a pleasing color scheme. New clients might not share that your site is amazing, but they will tell you when it’s hard to navigate or read. Don’t forget to include your logo! It can be placed in the header or footer of all pages, used as a background image behind text, or as a photo on the homepage. 

Combine these basic components and put your best site in the limelight. Stay tuned, our next blog will tell you how to take it up a few levels by adding specialized pages, more content, and branding that will knock it out of the park!

This content and visualization of a website might not come natural to business owners, and that’s okay! You already have a specialty, and that’s why you’re an entrepreneur. 100th Monkey can assist you in creating a wonderfully designed, user-friendly, clean website that will wow anyone who visits. Focus on what you’re great at, and give us a shout when you’re ready to start building!