There are many information channels that your business can leverage, such as Websites, Facebook, Google, Instagram, etc., but the business website is probably the most basic channel for a business to introduce its image, provide information, and receive feedback from its customers. In my opinion, a business website is like a person – it not only needs to make a good first impression with its appearance, but also needs to have sufficient substance to keep customers exploring and trusting it. So what requirements must a business website meet to achieve this?
As information technology continues to evolve, it becomes easier and easier to convey information to the public. However, this also means that users have increasingly higher demands on the quality and speed of information delivery. In an era of fierce competition across all information aspects, the fact that your business is missing from all media platforms is a major oversight. Amidst the billions of pieces of information users receive every day, for your business information to leave an impression is already difficult, let alone leaving this “fertile land” untouched. So how can a business website improve to make a personal mark?
- Beautiful, impressive design, following the brand identity standards
The first thing that impresses customers is the website design. A well-designed business website not only reflects the business’s investment and concern for communicating its brand image to the public, but also demonstrates the comprehensive and deep vision of the business owner in forming a long-term brand campaign. Beauty may depend on individual perception and evaluation, but there are still some standards to assess the beauty of a website:
- Designing in accordance with the brand identity standards is the first thing a business website must comply with. A highly rated website cannot be designed out of sync with the brand’s identity, such as a website with vibrant colors when the logo and identity require a gray tone, or a website using a serif font when the brand identity guides a sans-serif font. This inconsistency makes your website lack cohesiveness and professionalism.
- Coherent layout: Any paragraph of text or presentation needs a coherent layout, and a business website is no exception. Coherence in the interface provides users with a seamless experience, encouraging customers to take the next steps or simply explore your website further. Designs that lack consistency or scientific user flow development lead to high bounce rates and reduced website conversion rates.
- Captivating imagery: In any design, images always play a crucial role, almost to the point of being decisive. In reality, even if you meticulously craft a beautiful Wireframe, if the images used are inconsistent, ugly, or unsuitable, your design will not be highly regarded. Images in a design not only need to be consistent with each other but also tell the brand story you want to convey. You cannot use sexy images or lush flora and fauna for an industrial website, just as you cannot use industrial imagery for entertainment websites.
- Proportionate design: Proportionality is an indispensable standard when evaluating a website. Many websites have successfully used proportionality standards in their designs, such as the golden ratio. The National Geographic website design is an exemplary case of applying proportions. Looking at the National Geographic page, you’ll notice a smaller secondary logo nestled near the center of the spiral. This is an ideal location to double visual awareness, as our eyes will instinctively gravitate towards it. Naturally, the most important information will always be placed in the optimal viewing position.
- Common mistakes: Sloppy design, sloppy code – many websites are plagued by small errors after completion, creating a disjointed feel and disrupting the user’s exploration of your business website.
2. Business websites must have convenient UX
If your business operations include or depend on a website – and most businesses must at least have an online presence to compete – the user experience of your website will play a crucial role in attracting and retaining your customer base. And for most potential customers, you only have one chance to make an impression. Most visitors decide within a few seconds whether to stay on your website or hit the ‘Back’ button to find a better alternative. So seize that precious opportunity.
3. Business websites need high-quality content
Recently, the “Content is King” mindset has become a guiding principle nnnnfor businesses’ online marketing strategies. Most businesses invest in content marketing and see it as an effective tool that directly impacts consumer purchasing decisions. Even if your website’s goal is just to provide information, content still plays a hugely important role. First, customers will find you through search keywords, and then content will guide and imprint information about your business in their minds. Impressive content will not only attract customers at that moment but also remain in their memory for a long time.
Diverse content formats are also necessary to make your business website more appealing to customers. Content today goes beyond just written text and can include infographics, videos, memes, guides, interviews, lists, ebooks, or product reviews. Knowing how to combine and alternate between these content types will keep customers glued to your website.
4. Business websites must be SEO-optimized
According to statistics, 80% of customers only look at the TOP 1 search results on the Internet. Therefore, building an optimized and standard SEO website is one of the indispensable factors in assessing the effectiveness of a website. A standard SEO website must meet two full criteria: SEO-friendly for users and SEO-friendly for search engines.
SEO-friendly website for users
Users are the customers of the business, the readers of the website; a user-friendly SEO website needs:
- Aesthetically pleasing website interface with friendly and easily customizable colors
- Rational website layout, easy to see, easy to understand, helping customers find information quickly
- Providing useful, valuable information to customers, not just using the website for self-promotion
- Sharp images, unique content, and engaging videos
- Fast page load time
- Website interface compatible with mobile devices
- Fully integrated social sharing features
- Domain name or URL containing target keywords
SEO-friendly website for Google
Google is the most widely used search engine today. A Google-friendly SEO website must meet the following criteria:
- Domain name related to website content or is the main keyword
- No duplicate content
- Includes complete meta tags (title, description, keywords, image ALT tags)
- Title: Concise, around 60 characters, containing target keywords
- Description: Under 160 characters, containing target keywords, with compelling content
- Keywords: 4-5 target keywords
- ALT: A tag for images to help Google understand the image content, with target keywords
- A landing page must have at least 3 heading tags (H1-H3) based on website scale, with H1 as the article title containing target keywords, similarly with H2, H3 containing related keywords. A landing page has only one H1
- Regularly update new content on the website and share on social media
5. Business websites need to be compatible with multiple devices
At a time when mobile devices are taking over, the fact that your website is only compatible with PC screens is a huge oversight. A mobile-friendly website can help your business stay connected with customers anytime, anywhere, and convert their behavior into immediate actions. This means your website can be customized for various devices like smartphones, tablets, and mobile phones. This is also a point to note for any website nowadays, as there are still many businesses neglecting this aspect.
6. Business websites are easy to manage
Although not a direct external factor influencing your website, when evaluating the quality of a website, we cannot ignore the internal management system of that website. A system built on stable foundations, capable of easily managing content, images, etc., helps the business save time and resources to manage the website, and as a result, updating content and information for the website becomes more stable and regular. Your website also becomes more trustworthy as a result.
7. Business websites must be secured
The website is the business’ home on the internet. Therefore, if your home has any security issues or is even taken down, you will lose everything you’ve built up over the years, along with the brand image losing credibility in the eyes of customers. Just imagine if one day you see a major bank’s website being down, wouldn’t you feel worried and lose trust in that bank? You may have taken great care of the website content, but if the security protocols have flaws, hackers or unscrupulous competitors can hack your website. There is a perception that smaller websites are less likely to be hacked because they lack fame, but websites with many security vulnerabilities are still targets that hackers cannot ignore. Therefore, no website is absolutely safe from hacking, but there should be at least minimal measures to defend against it, at least for amateur hackers.
In summary, there are many factors to evaluate how good a business website is. Above, we have only outlined some basic points to help you assess the effectiveness of a website. Depending on your business strategy and direction, you can fine-tune your website to be more suitable. We wish you the best in having a beautiful and effective website.
