We constantly find ourselves asking, “What makes a website great?”. Since all websites are created for different industries, companies, audiences, and purposes, it’s hard to narrow down the reasons that make the successful ones, well, successful.
There are tons of sites out there that claim to be a collection of the “best” websites around, so for this post we simply picked the most obvious one for inspiration: TheBestDesigns.com. There are some incredible website designs on this gem of a site and after sifting through a few dozen of these incredible creations, we came up with a over-simplified list of reasons that these particular sites stand out.
1. Interest
What most of these sites have is an attention-grabbing factor that makes you want to open their page and poke around. This is something your site MUST have in order to generate traffic and to keep users on your site for as long as possible. If you don’t catch their curiosity from the get-go, it’s likely they won’t stay on your site for long.
2. Clean, Readable Text
We can’t stress enough how important it is to have legible copy that asserts itself and looks great. Not only does the content have to be valuable and well-written, but it also has to be designed in such a way that it enhances and strengthens the design itself.
3. Photography
Great photos are the glue that holds a great site together. Not all sites use photos, but the ones that do will be more successful if their photos are edited well, have brilliant color, interesting composition, and interesting content. Choosing quality, unique stock photos or even having a custom photo shoot done are good ways to ensure that the photos on your site have as much impact as possible.
4. Usability
Even though the visual design of a site is really critical, usability is perhaps the most important aspect of a website. A site can be beautifully designed with great photos, great typography and superb colors, but if the user has no idea how to navigate, then the site’s purpose is defeated. Make sure that your site has clear, intuitive navigation and the information you include is readily available and easy to find.
5. Creativity
When all is said and done, your site will be less impressive if it looks like a template. The more custom it feels and the more innovative it is, the better. Getting a tailor-made website designed for your company is one of the smartest, most valuable business decisions you can make. Having a great website in today’s world is absolutely necessary, and the effort and resources it takes to create one is well worth it. At Marstudio, we pride ourselves in our ability to create websites that embody the 5 qualities listed above. If you’d like to discuss your new website with us, feel free to give us a call or visit our website.
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