What makes a good website?
I'm so glad you asked!
There's no point in designing and publishing a website that doesn't do anything but look pretty. If you get nothing else out of this article, get this: "If you build it, they will come" is not the right sentiment for anyone looking to design a website that actually helps you make money.
Good Website Examples
It's tricky finding good website examples to model your own after. Just looking at a website it is impossible to tell if it's profitable or not, unless they tell you straight out. But that doesn't mean you can't find websites in your industry to learn and take example from.
Here's a few things to look for:
- Appropriate Design: While some people might argue over the importance and degree of quality of design it's important that your design fit your market. What I mean is if you are starting a blog about art then yea, graphics should be more high end and design consideration more thorough. If you are starting a website for work at home moms then your design may be more geared to that market, homemade looking even, since most moms are do-it-yourselfers!
- Ease of Use: Can you find what you are looking for? What kind of layout do the website examples that you like have? What are the key links they are using to direct people through their site. An experienced and savvy website designer will have a good idea of what their visitors are looking for and give them a clear and easy to follow path straight to the goods.
- Community: Right now the internet is all about social media and community. Have a look at website design examples that give you ideas on how to integrate community into your own business. There are many ideas: Membership sites, blogs, Ning-style communities, twitter integration and more. Just make sure that you choose something you can keep up with. Getting on all the social media sites but keeping up with none won't do your business any good.
When building your own website it's great to look to others for design tips and examples but in the end you need to blaze your own trail and build a site that is unique to your business, skill set and market.
There are many ways to design a website and many software programs you can use. For all my websites I use a program called WordPress. It's free with any good hosting company and it allows you to get a website up and running very quickly.
I'm so glad you asked!
There's no point in designing and publishing a website that doesn't do anything but look pretty. If you get nothing else out of this article, get this: "If you build it, they will come" is not the right sentiment for anyone looking to design a website that actually helps you make money.
Good Website Examples
It's tricky finding good website examples to model your own after. Just looking at a website it is impossible to tell if it's profitable or not, unless they tell you straight out. But that doesn't mean you can't find websites in your industry to learn and take example from.
Here's a few things to look for:
- Appropriate Design: While some people might argue over the importance and degree of quality of design it's important that your design fit your market. What I mean is if you are starting a blog about art then yea, graphics should be more high end and design consideration more thorough. If you are starting a website for work at home moms then your design may be more geared to that market, homemade looking even, since most moms are do-it-yourselfers!
- Ease of Use: Can you find what you are looking for? What kind of layout do the website examples that you like have? What are the key links they are using to direct people through their site. An experienced and savvy website designer will have a good idea of what their visitors are looking for and give them a clear and easy to follow path straight to the goods.
- Community: Right now the internet is all about social media and community. Have a look at website design examples that give you ideas on how to integrate community into your own business. There are many ideas: Membership sites, blogs, Ning-style communities, twitter integration and more. Just make sure that you choose something you can keep up with. Getting on all the social media sites but keeping up with none won't do your business any good.
When building your own website it's great to look to others for design tips and examples but in the end you need to blaze your own trail and build a site that is unique to your business, skill set and market.
There are many ways to design a website and many software programs you can use. For all my websites I use a program called WordPress. It's free with any good hosting company and it allows you to get a website up and running very quickly.
