Whether it is a personal website that you run as a hobby, or for the purposes of conducting business and making money, you want it to be as good as it can be. There are a number of different elements that comprise a successful and well designed website; not only does the site itself need to be well designed and competently built, you also need to make sure that it is served up to customers using the best available infrastructure.
Don’t Neglect Mobile
The prominent styles and trends of web design are constantly changing to reflect advances in the hardware and software which underpins the internet. Keeping abreast of these developments will give you a leg up on the competition and make it much easier to stand out and be different while still delivering on what visitors will expect from your website.
One of the most critical aspects of modern web design is making considerations for mobile browsing. It is only within the last decade that smartphones have become ubiquitous and capable of serving up either the full internet or something resembling it to users on the go. For a long time, websites would have two distinct versions, a full website and a mobile website. Now, however, websites are expected to offer a single page which adapts to suit the display of whatever device it is being served up on.
We now do a significant amount of our web browsing from mobile devices and there is a broad expectation from customers that your website be easily available and navigable when viewed on a smartphone or tablet. The most efficient way of doing this is by coding the website so that it can work out what device it is being displayed on, and automatically adjust itself accordingly.
Stay Focused
Those of us old enough to remember the early days of the internet also remember how much unnecessary clutter most websites were throwing at us. In a desperate bid to show off new technology and capabilities (there was a time when animated gifs seemed futuristic!) websites were adding features and elements just for the sake of it and not because they added anything to the website.
Today, undisciplined web designers are making the same mistakes. Make sure that every element and page of your site is there for a purpose, otherwise you are only wasting your own time as well as that of any visitors.
Choose a Good Web Host
Choosing the right web host is every bit as important as building your own website. Unreliable hosts will mean your website is less reliable and that visitors will be frustrated by pages that load slowly, if at all. Good web hosting doesn’t even need to cost and arm and a leg these days, a great example of this is the Magento hosting UK provided by Smart Hosting, a company that offers reliable and fast hosting services from as little as £2.99 a month.
There really is no excuse these days for any individual or business to not have a professional looking website. It is easier than ever for even those with no prior experience to put together a website that is easy to navigate and can be accessed reliably.
