How does your website stack up?

Building a website is no different to building a physical space. This article will show you in practical terms things to think about when building your website to get the best result for your brand. No matter the industry you are in, the underlying principles are the same for every website as they are for every building.

Best Design Practices

When building a physical location for your business there are numerous things you would ensure are to a high quality:

• Building plan
• Layout
• Functionality
• Design appeal

These elements are highly important for businesses; to ensure your physical space is meeting all the requirements for your customers and your brand.

However, brands no longer just need to think of physical locations, they also need to think about their space online.

If your customers cannot find your business online, have trouble navigating your website or cannot find the information they are looking for, your website could be deterring potential customers.

So, how do you know if your website is following best design practices?

Website Design Checklist

Open and navigate through your website and follow our website design checklist to assess if there are any elements of your website you think needs an update:

Building Plan

Can customers find what they are looking for on your website?

• Ensure your website has a search bar for people to type in what they’re looking for
• Can customers navigate to key information in less than 5 clicks
• Is the menu bar clear and easy to follow

Layout

Are you providing customers with the information they want or are looking for on your website?

• Research and assess what information customers are looking for on your website – You can assess this by using Google Analytics and looking at what pages people are visiting most on your website

Does your website have multiple pages?

• Your site should have at least 3 pages listing your services on each page – This helps Google find your site

Do you update your website frequently – this let’s Google know you are keeping it fresh?

• Do you have a Blog
• Do you add new projects
• Do you add image galleries

Functionality

Is your site multi-device friendly?

• Check on your mobile and see if your site is mobile friendly
• Does your site work across Safari, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and PC

Are you ensuring your site meets accessibility requirements?

• Ensure you have Alt Text on images for people who can’t see images

Is your website professional and trustworthy?

• Ensure you have an email address that matches your website – eg. you@domainname.com.au
• Ensure your website has an SSL to secure site from hackers
• Do you have trusted payment systems for customers

Design appeal

Is your website well presented?

• Ensure you use high quality images
• Ensure your designs and images are representative of your brand
• Ensure your images are optimized for web and are not huge file sizes while not being too blurry

Contact Redsteps

How did you go?

If you think your website may need updating contact us and we will do a free assessment! Let’s chat!

Contact Redsteps – We love seeing businesses thrive, succeed and engage with customers.