Top 10 advices for a successful website
The ten proven tips that will help you build a successful website
The article you are currently reading was written by me way back in 2002. It is probably strange, but it is definitely not a coincidence that even today, 20 years later, none of these tips have lost their relevance. They are just as valid today as they were 20 years ago.
In fact, what you are about to read here was not invented by me. These are simply the ten signs that successful sites still have in common today.
If you want your site to be successful, just follow the example of the successful ones in business.
1. Build the site with the visitor in mind
This is not just advice. It’s a law!
Every visitor enters your site with a single thought: “What will I find on this site FOR ME?” Don’t make people think about you or your company, try to solve the problem that brought them to your site.
Don’t let your site look like an ad block, but try to solve the problem that brought your visitor to your site.
This is the only way to succeed on the Internet!
2. Build clear and simple pages
In our hectic everyday life, where we usually browse sites on our phones, while standing in the subway, or on the bus, nobody has time to think about “intricate and complex web design solutions”.
If your visitor does not understand what to expect from your site at first glance, he/she will leave it immediately.
Therefore, pay special attention to the placement of each element of your site, and discard anything that has no good reason to be there.
Try to make it so that it takes no more than three seconds for anyone who lands on any page of your site to understand what your company is and what they can expect from the entire site.
If you think about it, you’ll realize how difficult it really is, but believe me, it’s critically important. People just don’t have time to waste these days.
3. Build fast-loading pages
An old but irrevocable law! “Violators” here are punished with all the severity of the Internet – their sites simply fail.
Don’t make your visitors wait a long time for your site to “load”. They won’t wait for it!
This advice becomes even more valid today when Google has clearly stated that from May 2021 site loading speed, defined as “Core web vitals“, will increasingly play an increasing role in the ranking of sites in the search engine.
4. Build intuitive and simple navigation
Interactivity is one of the greatest advantages of the Internet. However, its abuse can turn it into a serious problem.
It only takes one glance for the visitor to understand how to navigate your site. Complex, confusing sites, as well as those with “original” or “quirky” navigation, are dead sites.
Don’t expect your visitors to get used to your “quirky” site with “unusual” navigation. Nobody has time to waste today.
You can read more about navigation in this article.
5. Use simple and understandable language
Don’t assume that everyone has to know the ins and outs of your business and understand your professional jargon. Write accessible texts and do not be afraid that you will sound “unprofessional”.
You can only afford an exception if your site is intended solely for professionals in your industry.
6. Present information wisely
Virtually unlimited opportunities to provide any kind of information on the Internet can become a serious problem.
If you produce a large range of products or services, pay special attention to organizing and structuring them into logical and understandable categories. Simply listing or displaying in endless galleries or catalogs is more likely to confuse and alienate your customers.
7. Look for your (narrow) niche
The Internet is so big that no one can be everything to everyone.
Specialize in as narrow a niche as possible.
For example, if you sell children’s toys, it is much better to be #1 of the sellers of white teddy bears in LA than #8,365,242 of all the sellers of children’s toys in the world.
8. Plan funds for website maintenance
The greatest strength of the Internet is the speed and ease of keeping up-to-date information.
If you allow yourself the “luxury” of your site getting out of date even for a moment, you will lose your most powerful asset on the Internet.
And one more thing: remember that maintaining and updating your site is not the responsibility of your secretary or the “computer repair guy” in the office.
Leave it to the professionals. You will save yourself a lot of trouble and failure.
9. Obey Internet Laws…
Remember: just as it is impossible to make television with the methods of the radio, so it is impossible to make a website with the methods of, say, print media.
The Internet is a new medium that has its own specific laws. Ignorance or disregard of these laws will inevitably lead you to failure!
Making a website is not difficult. However, a lot of experience and knowledge accumulated over years is required for a successful website.
Hundreds of people have come to us to find out that the site they built many years ago is not working, simply because elementary laws for building websites were violated.
Don’t let this happen to you. Entrust the construction of your site to professionals. This will not only be cheaper but will also save you a lot of time, nerves, and frustrations.
10. Advertising, promotion, optimization…
Don’t expect visitors to find your site by chance or solely through Google.
Use your site purposefully and don’t miss an opportunity to mention it in all your forms of communication.
Your WWW address should appear on every business card, letterhead, and in general, your website address should become part of your company identification, similar to your company logo.
Also, don’t neglect or abandon your site optimization work even for a moment. Never forget that every Google search is a competition in which only those who keep “training” win.
Finally, never underestimate the recent growth of social networks. If you can afford it, hire specialists to take care of the positioning of your company on social networks, especially on Facebook. Do not forget that a well-thought-out and designed status on Facebook can be more effective than hundreds of dollars spent on another type of advertising.
