Believe it or not, some of the most important work performed on a website is done during the initial planning stages. A great website has a clear and defined goal from the outset, which helps lay the foundation for its’ design & reception.

We’ve all seen it, a beautifully designed website that is extremely difficult to navigate and use. From your Homepage across those sub-pages where your Terms & Conditions hide, a good website strives to address the pain points of it users from start to finish. For e-commerce sites, this means that every product is easy to view and access, and the checkout process seamless to navigate and complete. Remember useability is tied to credibility.

Like with useability, a way a site is branded can directly impact how upon “credible” it is viewed to be by users. A website with a fractured or incomplete identity can make users feel uneasy and distrusting, which is a killer when it comes to selling products or services. A good website has a strong, but simple identity with rigid boundaries that make it feel entire and complete.

Probably one of the trickier elements to a good website build is content. The meat of your website comes here, and it is what helps to solidify the story behind the ‘face’. Having a clear understanding of where you have come from and what it is you want to say is essential to the reception of your site & brand. Balancing the scales of word count against meaning is an exercise that may take several attempts; but which pays off in the long-term.

It’s not all just about aesthetics.

Responsiveness covers everything from how the design of website renders down from the browser level to the mobile level, to how quickly your website reacts when someone clicks a button. Where we live in a world where instant responses keep users engaged, a good website cannot afford to be slow or sluggish to react. That’s where ensuring that your website is not overloaded with complex elements comes into play, even if this comes at the expense of a dynamic design piece.