7 characteristics of a great website

What makes a great web page?

Wouldn’t you like to know the main ingredients to create a superior website? What basic elements should you have if you want a solidly designed web page? A web page that will stand out and be noticed by your visitors. One that will keep those visitors coming back to your site, again and again. An effective web page that is 95% better than most other pages on the net.

Follow these simple design features when creating your next web page, and you have the answer:

1. Good keywords

The nucleus. Design. Good keywords are the first building blocks to consider before your web page becomes a vague idea in your head. Choosing the correct keyword or key phrase is the fundamental factor that will determine the success or failure of your web page. You need to do some serious research on the keyword or keyword phrases that will be the focal point and cover letter of your web page.

You must do well. It is vital. It is the most important element of a web page. You can use keyword research software and sites like GoodKeywords, Wordtracker.com, Nichebot.com or superior keyword research software like Brad Callen’s Keyword Elite.

Regardless of which process you prefer, you should choose your keywords very carefully. You need to check the competition for the chosen keywords or phrase. You should check the number of searches made each month for your keyword. You should also check the keyword density of your page to see if it will register with search engines. You may need to adjust or fine-tune your keyword density at a later date.

Be sure to put your keyword in the title of your page. Put it in the first title of the page and many marketers also put your keyword or phrase in the URL. For example: [http://www.yourdomain.com/keyword.html] This will help search engines and browsers find your page faster.

2. Simple design

Keep it simple. You must keep your website simple and direct. Keep it professional. Make sure it is legible and clear for all your visitors. Do a spell checker. Do a grammar check. You can also check how your web page looks in all kinds of browsers. (www.anybrowser.com) Prevention is better than cure.

Keep your visitors in mind at all times when designing your web page. Keep it on topic, keep it related to your keywords. Most marketing studies show that it’s best not to confuse visitors with too many options. If you are selling a product or products, limit the number on each page to one product if you can.

If you have a comparison page, limit the number to three or four. Studies also show that if you present too many options or products, the conversion rate goes down, not up. Keep all your related products. If you have a page on laptops, don’t start discussing the benefits of owning an SUV.

Keep your sentences short and the number of words on a page to 200-300. Many sites split longer articles over multiple pages, this will be inconvenient for your visitors, but you will have more space for advertising, your decision.

3. Optimized

Let’s face it, the average website will get most of its traffic from search engines, primarily Google, although MSN and Yahoo are also worth considering. Optimize your page for Google. Use a simple hierarchy, keep your pages no more than three clicks away from the main page. Linking all your pages to your index page is a good practice, always do this. Search engines will find your page faster if it is linked directly from your site’s main index page.

Using blogging software/structure that comes with free blogging software like WordPress will optimize your pages for you. Blog systems have a hierarchy of links (categories, archives, etc.) that are very search engine friendly. It is almost impossible not to optimize your pages if you are using a blogging system. Plus, it has an RSS feed that will syndicate your content and get it up on search engines very quickly.

Check factors like Mega Tags, title description, and content. Use a robots text file for search engine robots.

If you are new to website building, you may want to check out Google Website Builder, you can create your pages and have them hosted by Google for free and they will be immediately indexed in Google. Great advantage! http://www.pages.google.com

4. Easy navigation

A great web page will have easy and simple navigation. Link your page to and from your main index page if you can. Be sure to link to it from your sitemap page. Many webmasters place all of the main links on their site at the top or bottom of all their web pages, so that a visitor can freely move around and find what they are looking for. Keep in mind the comfort level of your visitors at all times.

Double check to see that all the links on your web page are working. You may be surprised how many don’t work, especially if you link to other sites. Search engines don’t like broken links, and neither do your visitors.

Also double check to see if all the images on your page are displaying correctly. Nothing will reduce the quality of your page like images that don’t load.

5. Fresh content

A great web page will always have fresh content. Make sure to update your web page frequently. Our world’s technology changes rapidly, make sure your material is up to date and remains relevant.

Remember, 9 times out of 10, the only reason a visitor is on your page is for information. Make sure you deliver. Make sure the information is current and accurate. Plus, there’s nothing like fresh content to keep your visitors engaged and coming back for more.

6. Markable

A great web page will always be bookmarkable. Your visitor will want to bookmark your page and return to it for more information. Make sure it’s easy for your visitor to bookmark your page. Use a bookmark script. Make sure you have a favicon, this is a small logo that you place on your site and it will automatically be selected and displayed in your visitors’ bookmarks, drawing attention to your page. Think of a bookmark and a favicon as breadcrumbs, all of which lead the visitor back to your page.

7. Cool factor

Every great web page should have a WOW factor! Try to make your page stand out from the crowd. Try to be unique, try to be cool. Just remember, a simple professional web page with valuable information is always great. And remember there’s nothing like good word of mouth to drive traffic to your page. A great enthusiasm for your website is worth its value in gold.

So the next time you are designing a web page, go all out and try to create your web page with all the features listed above. Start with your keywords, keep it simple, fix and test coding errors, create good navigation and optimize for search engines, make sure you provide valuable and new content and information. Last but not least, do your best to make your web page memorable and bookmarkable. Turn it into a professional web page that is superior to most other pages on the web.

Aim high and you will reap the rewards.

Copyright 2006 Titus Hoskins