Xondie

Many small business owners who do not spend a lot of time online have difficulty determining whether or not a website is good. Having some sense of what “good” looks like will help you to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of your own website.

Here are some things to look for:

1. Branding is consistent. Displaying different logos, fonts, name spellings, or color schemes is the sign of an amateur. Choose a look for your site and carry it through on every page. Business cards, receipts, catalogues, and other print marketing should match this branding as well.
2. Text style and formatting is consistent. All text within the same context should have the same size, spacing, and alignment from page to page. If a heading on one page is left justified, bolded, and in 14-point font, then all page headings should be.
3. The site uses familiar metaphors and conventions. It has been said that users spend 99.99% of their time on websites other than yours. Following the existing conventions helps users navigate your site easily. Website designs that break these conventions indicate an immature or inexperienced designer. More importantly, they annoy and frustrate their users. Websites can be unique while still using the standard metaphors.
4. The content is easy to get to. People come to get what they want from your site – not what you want them to get. Good sites respect their users and don’t force them to jump through hoops by making them watch videos or burying important information. Popular content should be called out. Users should never be forced to watch something that they didn’t specifically request.
5. The content is well organized. Content should be easy to find based on the volume of information available. Sites with a lot of content should contain multiple pages or sections, rather than loading it all onto the front page. Pages should be organized into an intuitive hierarchy.
6. Difficulties are anticipated and mitigated. The best sites anticipate the frustration points for users and offer assistance where needed. A site with a lot of pages might have a site map. A site with complex functionality could offer help pages or an FAQ. Help should be easy to find and the information should be clear and concise.
7. The links and images all work. This may seem obvious, but many sites do not adequately test or maintain their content. It is important that all pages actually display and link to the expected content. Broken content tells a user that the website or business has been abandoned.

Great websites have an element of art in them and as such some of what makes them great cannot be put into a list. What is most important is that a site should make you feel good about being there. Such sites create a positive relationship with their users who will then recommend the site to their friends and family. Spend some time navigating the web and see if you can identify the above characteristics in sites you enjoy. Being an active web user is the best way to recognize what a great website looks like.

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