Building an effective website or web application isn’t easy. A lot of thought and preparation goes into it, but the final result can be well worth the effort you put in.
However, developing something that works well and looks good can be much harder than it sounds! With this guide to website development best practices, you’ll learn what it takes to develop an efficient project while also ensuring that it looks good and functions well.
1. Home Page Optimization
Your website’s home page is where all of your hard work pays off, so it’s essential to optimize it as much as possible. You want to give users a reason to stay on your site and make sure they keep coming back. To do that, try: keeping your navigation bar easy to read and straightforward, giving users options for different paths through your content, making sure all key pages are accessible from at least one menu item.
Also, be wary of pop-ups: no matter how valuable or exciting they may be, it can turn people away if there are too many pop-ups while they’re trying to get around your site. As a business owner looking to optimize your web presence, you can utilize white label web development to ensure you meet your customers’ needs with ease and keep them on your website.
2. Page Content Optimization
Write for your audience first. It may sound obvious, but if you plan to build a website to help promote your business, it doesn’t make sense to talk about yourself in depth. An effective page should have as much information and focus on your target audience as possible.
Consider what questions they may ask when searching for products/services similar to yours; then be sure that your content addresses these topics head-on so that people can easily find what they need quickly.
3. Site Navigation and Internal Linking
Developing simple site navigation and internal linking will help improve site usability. User experience is crucial for any website, and if users can’t find what they are looking for on your site quickly and easily, chances are they will move onto another one that makes browsing a more seamless process.
Adding links to improve navigation can increase click-through rates and boost engagement metrics, leading to higher conversion rates. Each menu item should have enough weight behind it without being too long or convoluted.
4. Friendly Design (UX/UI)
Take your time and make it look professional: It may be tempting to design your new site as quickly as possible, but that can lead to an amateurish result. Remember: There are no deadlines in web design. Take your time because a polished site will communicate professionalism, reliability, and trustworthiness—all of which are crucial elements of any website’s success.
So before rushing off to build something quickly, take some time to create a great user experience (UX) and an attractive user interface (UI). Remember, you only get one chance at making a first impression! Make sure that impression is positive.
5. Effective Lead Generation Form
An effective lead generation form helps collect information about potential clients interested in your products or services. Also, an effective lead generation form helps engage customers and make them interested in filling out a sales request. The more you know about someone before they become a customer, such as their name and email address, the easier it’s to tailor subsequent interactions with them and help them move through their sales cycle faster.
What makes for an effective lead generation form? What doesn’t? Lead generation forms are often front and center on most websites: it can be right next to that Add to Cart button on a shopping site, it could be part of your landing page, or it might be inside of another webpage. The more personalized and targeted your communication efforts are, the better off you will be when it comes time for that sale or newsletter sign-up.
6. Mobile-Friendly Website Design
Mobile visitors expect your site to work well on mobile devices. Mobile-friendly design enables sites to display nicely on smartphones and tablets. According to Google’s research, mobile searches have surpassed desktop searches in 10 countries worldwide, including Japan and Australia.
Make sure it does by choosing a web host that supports responsive web design or building your site with a content management system (CMS) that has responsive in-built features. Most mobile users like fast websites; they expect sites to load within two seconds.
7. High Site Speed Website
Page load speed significantly impacts how your visitors perceive your website. Page load speed affects a visitor’s experience and is essential when evaluating how good a website is.
It takes less than 1 second for most people to decide if they like or dislike your site, so it’s crucial to ensure it is optimized and as fast as possible. Google Analytics is a great place to start if you want to see how your website measures up against its competitors in terms of page load speed. Using their free web-based tool, you can get more information about your website.
8. Security and Performance Testing
Security testing helps ensure that a website is secure. A website may suffer security breaches and intrusions resulting in loss of confidential information of the company’s client and employee, loss of business reputation, and disclosure of personal information to competitors.
Security testing should be done both from internal as well as external sources. It includes several procedures such as penetration testing, ethical hacking, social engineering attacks, and malware testing.
Conclusion
A website is a critical component of any business’s online presence. A successful website can provide you with a competitive advantage from customer acquisition to search engine optimization.
At its core, every great website needs to adhere to best practices and guidelines for user experience (UX) and search engine optimization (SEO). You can contact Agile 451 to help you develop a great website using website development best practices.
