Launching a new website can be crucial no matter the nature of your business. In the digital era, both small-scale and large-scale companies require a digital presence. It is essential to check a few things before your launch. Whether you want to design a new website or redesign your existing site, building an effective website with good Web Design needs investment in the form of time and cost.
A good company website needs to attract sufficient traffic, convert leads, and enhance your business. A non-attractive site can convey the wrong message about your customer service and business practices. It is also essential for your site to offer engaging content. That will help balance marketing and selling.
These factors, therefore, make website checklists essential during web development. They offer instructions and insights for successful website design. If you have hired a web design company, this guide can help you determine the value of your investment. If your website does not generate a return on investment, it is time to go through this ultimate checklist for web design and development.
A domain name offers a necessary overview of your business. It is the web address that customers enter before visiting your site. The registration of the web URL is expensive, especially for TLDs (Top Level Domains). Domain names ending in ‘.com’ are universally recognized and therefore hard to find. They are costly but offer a unique and professional look for your company.
Your URL should ideally contain the company name. The domain name should also offer insights into your business. For instance, if you have a web development agency, you can add the business sector or service to your URL. However, these URLs are sometimes unavailable if there are other businesses with similar names. In these instances, breaking the name or using hyphens can be beneficial.
Food recipe websites were also among the top trending searches. The local community-support store searches ranked high.
An attractive website does not always require exaggerated flash implementation. Having a simple and effective header creates a good impact on your visitors. Appropriately utilizing your website logo and placing it at the center of the header image are also essential steps. An effective logo can make use of shapes and symbols to create an impact. The color scheme and design of your logo also convey your business style and values.
An image conveys a better sense of your business and engages customers. A photo is a powerful way to send messages about your brand. Professional and good quality images of your company space and products can attract clients.
If you are a B2C company, the overall look of your products or services is essential. For instance, a construction company needs to feature appealing images of their projects. High-quality photos are also important for your social media presence.
Web builders have made designing websites easy. Any company that offers web design and development services can help create highly functional websites. These sites make use of user-friendly builders like Squarespace and WordPress. These builders have ‘What You See Is What You Get’ (WYSIWYG) editors, templates, and custom plug-ins.
It is advisable to avoid free hosting. Many hosting service companies will offer domains containing their name. That can create a negative impression on your clients. Selecting a hosting service involves making a wide array of choices. Data storage limits, email services, cloud storage, and hosting duration are a few key factors to consider. One should also take into account the hosting prices.
Simple navigation styles like horizontal navigation will help users land on their desired page. These are commonly used styles that allow easy navigation and higher conversion on most sites. It is important not to crowd the homepage with unnecessary links. Providing an attractive and concise header will allow the user to click on it and engage with your site.
A website that takes a long time to load suggests that your website design is not up to the mark. A reputed web development agency will always offer a website that loads in under four seconds. A slow loading site means a lower conversion rate.
Almost 60% of web searches take place on mobile phones and tablets. If your business website is not mobile-friendly, you will encounter lower conversion ratios.
Consider Reading : Why Responsive Web Design is Crucial for Business
Adding your business’ contact information, address, and other essential details will add credibility to your site. If your visitors want to get in touch with you, the CTA (Call To Action) buttons are essential. These buttons are clickable options that allow users to request a call back and enter their contact information. This information is crucial, especially for local businesses, as most users prefer to call. Adding your location on the map also makes it easy for customers to contact your business and improve sales.
Content is the key to generating organic traffic to your website. Web design and development services make use of blogs to create brand awareness. These blogs can offer information about your business, answer FAQs, address current advancements in your field, or provide business news. Quality content is also essential for SEO purposes and improves your website rankings. Blogs with rich keywords rank higher on search results.
A reliable CMS (Content Management System) helps to store and update the custom codes. Updating these codes and their storage on reliable systems is essential. If you prefer to hire a professional web development agency, make sure they offer an effective CMS. WordPress and Joomla are popular content management systems that give access to multiple users.
Social media has become an important part of every business. A website with social media integration allows better customer communication and improves sales. It also helps to preserve your business’ authenticity. A good web design must offer links to your social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter.
Videos are an effective way to increase customer engagement and offer a visual experience to visitors. Videos are perfect for drawing the attention of your users and offer insights into your business. They also prevent users from leaving your site by keeping them entertained.
Apart from the above checklist, businesses should also:
This detailed checklist will help you design a successful website. Many reputed web development companies also offer web design solutions if you want help getting started.
Grove86 is an experienced website design company offering web design and development services. Along with web design, they offer builders and hosting solutions. Their team is available 24/7 and will help you build or convert your website.
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