5 Qualities of a Good Website: The Basics
Your website is 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 foundation.
In this article, we’ll discuss the qualities of a good website and how to build your website to attract more clients and sales.
Each of these qualities will help with user experience, structure, and messaging to improve your marketing efforts. The BONUS section will help you understand how to get your website to appear in search engine results, which means greater visibility and more website visitors!
1 - Audience-Focused Content
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 encourage your target audience to purchase from you. You do this by making your website all about them.
To connect with your target audience:
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. Use social media, Reddit, and surveys for market research to help you better understand your target audience. Then, create a customer persona that defines exactly the type of person you would love to sell to or work with.
Use your customer persona in all your messaging. Whenever you write content for your website, write it for the customer persona you created. Speak directly to them, their wants, their needs, their struggles, their desires. Use language they understand and relate to and focus on what your product or service does for them.
Write more “you” statements than “I” statements. Avoid talking about yourself too much and, instead, direct your statements to the reader. This is especially important for your About section. Many business owners mistakenly believe their About section should be… well… about them. While it’s perfectly fine to include your background and expertise, the focus should still be on what your experience means for your customers and why they’ll love purchasing from you.
Focus on benefits versus features. A feature is an attribute of your product or service. For example, you’re a parenting coach that offers behavioral modification techniques. Behavioral modification is a feature. A benefit is what your client will gain from that feature. For example, a more calm and peaceful home. A calm and peaceful home is the benefit. Your website visitor cares far more about what benefits they will receive than the logistics of your product or service.
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, that you understand their struggles and have the perfect solution. Start with a customer persona and use that to create website content they’ll love.
2 - Powerful Headings
Headings are the largest text on your website. They’re often labeled H1, H2, and H3. Since headings are the first thing people read when they visit your site, they’re incredibly important. You have just a few seconds to grab and keep a reader’s 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 use an H1 heading, the largest text, at the top of the page. Then, you’ll want to add a subheading underneath, in smaller text, to elaborate on the heading and pique further interest. Additional headings can be used to describe the different sections on the page.
Take a look at other websites to see how their headings and subheadings are used to guide the reader down the page. Notice the powerful words and phrases they use to keep the audience interested in their website content. No plagiarizing here, but this is a good way to see how headlines are used effectively.
3 - Internal Link Spiderwebs
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 - Skimmable Content
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 - Clear 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.
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. Others have had success with Moz, Ahrefs, or Ubersuggest. Explore your options and decide what’s best for you.
Another (free) way to get an idea of what your audience is searching for is to enter relevant search terms into Google and scroll to the PEOPLE ALSO ASK section. This will give you a list of popular questions that people are typing into Google.
If you use an SEO tool like Keysearch, find keywords related to your niche that have high search volume and low competition. This will indicate that many people are searching for those keywords, but not a lot of websites have covered it yet. You’ll have a better chance of showing up on Google if you’re not fighting a million other websites for a top spot.
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 Qualities 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 home worth bragging about.
