The question “what makes a good website” is a frequently asked one by people far and wide across the digital industry – and by some not even in the industry. Although there is not a one-size-fits-all answer due to the nature of there being many different kinds of websites that all have different goals, there are a few elements that all good websites should possess.
In this article, we’re going to explore what makes a good website, and a few of the best practices involved in creating a website that is considered a good website.
Let’s get started.
5 Elements of a Good Website
Here are 5 elements of a good website.
Satisfies User Intent
User intent, also known as search intent, is a term used to describe the purpose of an online search; it can be encompassed by a single word: “why”. If you want your website to succeed, it needs to align with what people want and need.
Best practice with satisfying search intent is to uncover the ways in which people can end up on your different pages and tailor these to answer specific questions.
Technically Astute
A good website ticks the boxes of being easily crawlable while signaling to search engines what they can and cannot index. Good sites don’t have many technical errors and load very fast.
With site speed and core web vitals being an increasingly important part of SEO, websites need to load fast and be technically astute.
Safe and Secure
Users and search engines both look for signals of trust within a website. From a user experience point of view, a missing lock icon in the address bar means that you don’t take your security seriously – this is a big issue for users.
With regards to search engines, they’re engineered to provide searchers with the best possible result(s). If a search engine doubts your website’s security, it will not be too quick to show your content.
A good website should be a safe haven for users.
Flawless UX
Sure, a great-looking website is important in fulfilling the goals you set; but if it has a poor user experience with digital roadblocks throughout – your users aren’t going to have a good time.
A good website should not only feature an on-brand design, but it should be a pleasure to navigate; turning possible frustration into happiness at every corner.
Mobile Friendly
Whilst it’s by no means a new concept, mobile-first design is a crucial component of a good website. With most users viewing on mobile, it only makes sense for Google to move to Mobile-first Indexing.
A good website is developed mobile-first.