What makes a good website? Here are 16 things I look at [new data]

Your website strategy should help drive business and marketing objectives. For your website to work, you need to keep up with what makes a good website today.

Website trends and customer expectations change rapidly. It feels like yesterday when I worked in a leading website design agency. Back then, we encouraged clients to build a mobile-friendly website because it was the new thing. Before I knew it, we were building mobile-first websites as standard, then web apps. These days, mobile responsiveness is no longer a USP; it’s an expectation.

I wanted this article to cover every component of what makes a good website. To do this, I needed more than just my knowledge, so I spoke to website experts, including talented and certified UX designers, website developers, website administrators (because a good website has to be easy for your team to use, too), and marketers who rely on websites for marketing success.

I suggest reading this article and using each item as a checklist. If the recommendation works for you, you can add it to your next website brief. However, you don’t need to wait until you need a new website to implement some of these recommendations. For each recommendation, I’ve made a point to suggest whether or not this is something you can do now or if it’s better as part of a wider website project (read: a rebuild).

I’m jumping straight into the qualities of a good website, but before I do, I want to share an analogy from Ste Bell because I think it helps explain why a good website matters. Bell is the founder at Technically Creative; fair to say, he knows a thing or two when it comes to the qualities of a good website.

Bell uses the analogy of a shop to describe a website. He says, “Imagine you go into a shop, but just before you go in, you’re told that you need to wait before you come in. You might be a little bit disgruntled, or you might even leave and go elsewhere. That’s what it’s like for your users if your site takes ages to load.”

Bell continues, “Now, you’ve gone into the shop, and it’s a bit of a mess; the decor’s pretty dirty and needs painting. You’re going to assume the quality isn’t the best. You’ll be reluctant to spend a lot of money in that shop. This is the same as your website. If your aesthetic is stuck in the past you’re letting competitors get a head start in winning all the potential buyers.”

Now, onto the components of a great website so your visitors will stay engaged on your site and convert.

1. Clarity

I asked many experts for insights into what makes a good website, and I was inundated with recommendations for improving clarity.

Ste Bell said that “Clarity” was the most crucial component for a successful website. What do you do and who do you do it for?

Bell says, “A clear website means users instantly know what you offer, how it helps them, and what the next steps they should take. Done properly, this will drive user engagement and lead to tangible business results.”

Bell warns, “Many businesses miss the mark on clarity, yet it’s really not that complex.”

Bell has the key steps to bringing clarity to your website. He says, “The first step to this is nailing your sections and headings. Users skim, and 99% of people landing on your website aren’t going to read all of your copy.

“You need them to understand:

• What problem you’re solving.
• Who are you solving it for? (Is it for them?)
• What is your solution (bonus for ‘when’ and ‘how’).”

On his own site, and within the hero, Bell demonstrates these three items. See the image below for clarity in action.

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Bell says, “You don‘t get a second chance at a first impression so it’s crucial to nail this in your hero section, so that visitors are going to want to scroll to find out more.”

Easy to add to an existing website? Yes! You should be able to alter your website’s messaging within minutes on your site. Any CMS, or drag-and-drop website builder should give you functionality to make these changes.

2. Copywriting With a Consumer Focus

The second component of a good website is consumer focus. While this point overlaps with the clarity point above, I wanted consumer focus to have its section because I think it’s incredibly important, and so does Tasmin Lofthouse, a freelance conversion copywriter and founder of Fika Digital

Lofthouse warns, “Too many brands focus on themselves when it comes to their website messaging.”

Instead, Lofthouse says brands should “Put themselves in their target audience‘s shoes and be able to see their product or service from their customer’s perspective.

“It’s not enough to just sell people based on features and benefits. Consumers should visit your website and instantly get a sense of how your product/service will add value to their lives. They care about what it can specifically do for them.”

In marketing, we talk about the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion, but I’d argue that the four Cs of marketing are a better perspective when it comes to copywriting. The four Cs include: customer, cost, convenience, and communication.

Lofthouse says you should do “in-depth customer research and pivot your website messaging to centre your customer‘s emotions, motivations, and needs. That way, you can make sure your website messaging speaks directly to the heart of your consumers without them ever feeling like they’re being sold to.”

Easy to add to an existing website? This is easy to add to your existing website as long as you know how to communicate what you do. If you don’t, then a branding exercise could be a helpful project.

3. Pages That Match Search Intent

If SEO is driving traffic to your website, you need to think about the experience the visitor gets when they click on your page. It’s essential that the page delivers the information the user is asking for.

Ben Poulton, founder of Intellar, considers what makes a good website from an SEO perspective.

Poulton says, “There is a lot of overlap with design, UX, content, and technical best practices. High-performing websites have clear hierarchies when it comes to navigation and content consumption.

“If users are searching for a product, it‘s likely they want to buy, but it’s also likely they have many other intents to fulfil.

• How do they use [the product]?
• What are the reviews saying?
• Shipping times
• Supplementary product
• Benefits
• Comparisons

“A good landing page will capture all of the above.”

I’ve worked in SEO for over a decade and strongly agree with Poulton. SEO drives a lot of new traffic to a website, and if someone hasn’t heard of you before, they need extra trust builders to lead them to conversion.

It is essential to think about the components of an individual page and how these components contribute to an action being taken. Sticking with product pages, all components of the page should help drive that final conversion, a sale.

Holland & Barrett do this really well. Below is a screenshot from their site. On the product page, they’ve made conversion very easy but have also included a lot of supporting content such as delivery and returns, sustainability, reviews, and more.

Poulton has a tip for finding out what to include on your page. He says, “[Combine] existing customer feedback (if you have it), search intent (what do they expect to get, think format and medium too), and piggybacking off other data across your marketing channels.”

Easy to add to an existing website? For smaller sites, it will be easy to make edits on a page-by-page basis, but larger sites, especially ecommerce, may need to consider a full redesign and rebuild before getting search intent fully implemented across the site.

P.S. Need to rebuild your website? Worry not! HubSpot has a complete guide on how to build a website from scratch.

4. Social Proof

Andrew Ganesh is a digital marketing consultant at neshworks. He says that users (especially new users) visiting a site need to know they can trust a business.

I strongly agree that social proof is a critical part of what makes a good website.

Ganesh says, “Visitors look for trust signals that help them determine if the business is legitimate and credible.”

Examples provided by Ganesh include:

• Social proof from 3rd party platforms like Google Reviews or Trust Pilot.
• Authentic 5-star reviews from people with real names using the product.
• Video testimonials and text testimonials that use real names and people, not actors.
• Industry badges, accolades and awards, and media mentions (As seen in…).

Ganesh says, “Visitors are expecting to see these trust signals within seconds [and]

are expecting to see positive experiences.

“Visitors decide within seconds whether they leave or stay on the website. If a website doesn‘t show social proof above the fold, near CTA buttons, and throughout the page, they’ll assume it’s not a credible business.”

The Holland & Barrett screenshot above shows examples of social proof in the form of reviews and sustainability claims.

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Easy to add to an existing website? You should be able to update your website to include social proof. The challenge comes in getting the content. For example, it can be a challenge to get user-generated content, such as videos from happy buyers, but don’t let this stop you! Start collecting social proof now.

5. Customer Testimonials

Customer testimonials are mentioned above as part of social proof, but I wanted them to have their own section in this article because they are absolutely critical.

Potential customers need to trust you before choosing to work with you. Fortunately, customer testimonial pages can help you effectively build that trust with prospects.

Use your website to build your credibility by sharing your expertise and successful track record with clients and customers. When you do get testimonials, ask your clients for permission to use their real names. Real endorsements from recognizable businesses and organizations mean a lot more than an anonymous testimonial or a quote from a fictional persona.

Case study pages should have a consistent, concise format and template to explain what problem a customer had, how your company solved it, and what process you used to get to a resolution.

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Top tip: Create a branded page on your website using a URL like yourdomain.com/reviews/ so that you can catch branded search in Google. Too many brands give these “review” clicks to third-party websites like TrustPilot, G2, or even Facebook.

Easy to add to an existing website? You should be able to add some testimonials easily! The new page from the top tip might require a little more work, such as a design and build, but you should be able to create the page now, rather than waiting for a bigger website project.

6. Optimized UX

Optimized UX feels like a no-brainer for this article. Obvious but not always simple to implement.

Gediminas Skirmontas is the senior web UX designer at Omnisend. Skirmontas believes that how well a website matches business goals is what matters.

It’s critical that a website has a UX optimized to drive business goals, such as conversions.

Skirmontas says, “The whole design and functionality should easily guide users through their journey. A good example is Tapcart.”

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Skirmontas breaks down why the Tapcart website works. He says, “It has everything:

• A sleek, luxurious design.
• Interactive elements.
• Intention.

“Everything from the consistent button styles to inline form validation and Shopify one-click setup is built to reduce friction and help users move forward fast.”

Creating an intentional website design that helps users convert all comes down to the digital UX design.

Easy to add to an existing website? Generally not. You could work page-by-page, but ideally, UX would be tackled as a site-wide consideration so every step of the buyer journey is optimized for success.

7. Contact Information

Including contact information seems simple, but a lot of companies miss this. And it’s undeniably important.

Where possible, you want to include your:

• Phone number.
• Email address.
• Physical address.
• Or other contact mediums where you want people to reach you for sales inquiries.

Preferably, this information will be in an easy-to-find location, like the header of the page.

Also, consider including a clickable “Email us!” CTA that either opens an email client or links to your contact form. And, speaking of forms, you might want to embed “Contact Us” forms throughout your site. Visitors don’t need to go on a scavenger hunt to find out how to get in touch with you.

Nirmal Gyanwali is the founder and CMO at WP Creative. He believes strongly that being able to contact someone is crucial in good websites. Gyanwali uses Airbnb to illustrate his point.

He says, “Clear contact information shows visitors they are dealing with a legitimate business.

Take Airbnb’s website as an example. Every listing includes host details, guest reviews, and safety measures. Their secure booking process and money-back guarantee help visitors feel comfortable making a reservation.

“These small trust signals make a huge difference in converting hesitant visitors into customers. When a website feels credible, people are more likely to stay, explore, and do business with you.”

Easy to add to an existing website? Yes! Add your contact information to your footer and create a page on your site. Add the contact page to your header.

8. About Us Page

Sharing your story and highlighting core values is critical for your brand’s long-term success. Like the contact page, a good about page builds trust.

Simply put, people care about who they do business with, so tell people who you are and why your work matters. That said, keep it brief. Customers don’t have time to read a research paper.

For About Us page inspiration, take a look a these About Us and About Me Pages.

Easy to add to an existing website? This should be very easy! You need to add a new page, and About pages are generally not overly designed so a good drag and drop builder or simple page template should be all you need.

9. Blog

All digital, social, and other online marketing requires quality content. A blog is one of the most effective opportunities you have to create and distribute high-quality content related to your products or services.

As an SEO, I’m a huge advocate for blogging. Though, you don’t need to cover everything to write an excellent blog. You want to think about keywords and topics related to your buyer’s needs.

I like to track blog performance by monitoring the number of people who buy after reading a blog. See the segment overlap report below from G4: Just over 9% of total sales came from people who viewed a blog and purchased within one month.

Ilya Telegin, head of content at Improvado, agrees with content‘s role in creating a good website. He says, “High-quality content means clear, useful, and engaging information that answers the audience’s questions. It builds trust, keeps people on your site longer, and helps with SEO so more people can find you through search engines.

“If our website only had product descriptions but no valuable blog posts, case studies, or guides, potential customers wouldn‘t see us as experts in the field. But by offering in-depth articles … we educate visitors and make them more likely to trust and buy from us. Good content isn’t just about words, it’s about helping users solve problems.”

To maximize SEO, your blog should be listed under your domain (something like www.yourcompany/blog) instead of off-site through a third-party service.

Ultimately, a blog can help you reach new audiences, increase brand awareness, and convert prospects through educational, valuable content.

Easy to add to an existing website? Generally, adding a blog will be easy, especially if you’re using a CMS like WordPress or Content Hub. The wider challenge with writing high-quality content is resources.

10. Social Media Icons

Once your website is regularly bringing in traffic, it’s important you link out to your social media pages so prospects and customers can follow you.

However, it’s important not to overdo it — when in doubt, go for simplicity over scale. For instance, if you work for an ecommerce company, consider linking to a few visually appealing pages, such as Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube.

Of course, don‘t add platforms that you don’t update regularly. You’re building trust, and that comes by regularly having updated and relevant content and answering queries from customers and leads.

In the screenshot below, you can see how HubSpot displays its social media icons. HubSpot is an excellent example of how social media icons contribute to a good website experience. All the icons are available, and it’s clear which social media the graphic will link to. HubSpot socials are also regularly updated.

Easy to add to an existing website? Yes! This should be very easy. If it’s not easy, you might want to consider a new CMS that allows you to control your own website.

11. Geographic Details

46% of all Google searches are looking for local information — which means if your business isn’t optimized for local search, you could be missing out on potential customers who are searching for products or services within your geographical region.

Most businesses with brick-and-mortar locations rely on customers within a certain geographic area. Fortunately, when many people search for a product or service, they include a location. Including your location information will help your SEO strategy and help people unfamiliar with your region find your business.

For instance, if you need a locksmith, you might search “locksmith in Maplewood, NJ.” This is why you should use your location in page titles and other metadata, as well as in the text that appears on your website. If you have several cities you serve, you should consider creating landing pages on your site for each location for easier navigation.

Justin Herring is the founder and CEO at YEAH! Local. Herring says, “I discovered that having clear, search-engine-optimized content made a huge difference when one of our local business clients jumped from page 3 to the top of Google searches just by restructuring their website text and meta descriptions.

“The key is creating content that both search engines and real people love — I’ve seen bounce rates drop by 40% when websites strike this balance right.”

Easy to add to an existing website? Yes, this would be easy, but it might be time-consuming! You don’t need to wait for a whole new website to start implementing local SEO.

12. Live Chat

Chatbots can‘t replace real people with customer service, but they are a good alternative for those who don’t want to call or email and may be inquiring about services or simple FAQs. To meet customers where they are and provide the instant feedback they require, consider installing a live chat option on your website.

Chatbots are easy to program, and many don’t even require code. Artificial intelligence has made this functionality much more feasible for companies of all sizes. In fact, many companies offer live chat as a simple plugin for your CMS platform.

Other reasons to consider a chatbot:

• Chatbots increase leads. According to Statista, 26% of B2B marketers using chatbots increased leads.
• Conversations with chatbots can help you understand your audience, according to 57% of B2B marketers.
• In 2022, 43% of American marketers stated that chatbots helped educate prospects.

Easy to add to an existing website? Yes, very easy! As long as you can access your website’s code, you can add a chatbot. HubSpot’s chatbot builder makes adding a chatbot very simple.

13. Original Videos and Images

Customers like images but are weary of stock photos, particularly of products or services. This is where authentic behind-the-scenes videos and photos can help.

For instance, if your company provides a service such as landscape design or IT maintenance, show before-and-after pictures of your work.

If your service is something less tangible, such as insurance or life coaching, show pictures of your friendly staff and your belief system using visuals. Or, better yet, include video. Videos where you are explaining your business’ purpose are powerful opportunities for increasing trust with potential customers.

Easy to add to an existing website? Unique images are video are very easy to add to existing websites in terms in terms of technicality. The wider challenges with unique images and video are generally resource and budget.

14. Newsletter Sign-Up Button

Offering your site visitors a chance to stay up-to-date via a subscription to your blog posts, newsletters, or product releases is a great way to stay top-of-mind for prospects and customers and increase brand loyalty.

A subscription will let you share information about your company through email marketing and build your email list at the same time. Use this list to share information you think your clients and prospects will find valuable whenever you have it.

I spoke to Amber Coote, an eCRM account manager who manages email campaigns for her clients.

She says, “Not everyone who lands on your site is ready to hit the ‘buy now’ button right away — and that’s totally okay! Most users are just browsing, doing some research, or figuring out if they really need what you’re offering.

“This is exactly why featuring catchy CTAs for email sign-ups or form downloads is so important. They give you the chance to stay in touch with visitors who might not be ready to purchase now but could be down the line.”

Coote recommends an engaging CTA that gives the user something worthy of an email exchange. She says, “Offering something like a free guide, a discount, or even some helpful tips is a great way to encourage them to sign up — and stay connected.”

One of the benefits of building audiences in email is that you can segment audiences and track the success and quality of traffic landing on your site.

Coote says, “This has taught me that the real power of a newsletter sign-up lies in its ability to nurture prospects over time .. My goal isn’t to rush the process; it’s to stay present and helpful, guiding the user’s journey to ensure that when the right time comes, they will make the purchase.”

Easy to add to an existing website? It should be easy to add a sign-up module.

Pro tip: HubSpot’s newsletter builder makes light work of creating newsletters.

15. Page Speed

I didn’t want to finish this article without covering page speed because it’s a critical part of good website build, but its value can be overrated.

Page speed is one of the few elements that you can measure quantitatively. Google Page Insights and Lighthouse performances provide data and scores. It’s the measurability of it that can make its importance inflated, in my opinion.

Stewart Law is the technical SEO at forank. He’s spent years as a WordPress developer and now focuses on technical SEO. The beauty of Law’s knowledge is that he understands the impact of page speed requests on dev, what actually moves the needle and what is best left for a new build.

Law has achieved page speed scores of 90+ on all our sites, but the truth is he had to rebuild some of them to achieve this.

For the average website, Law doesn’t always recommend shooting for the highest page speed, he says: “It’s worth as much as you can, but you need to balance the work required to complete the job with the impact.”

I asked Law for common page speed issues that he sees and are often (but importantly, not always) easy to fix.

Law commonly sees the issues below, and these are often impactful and easy to fix.

• Image sizes are a big problem for page speed. Make sure images are compressed. This starts with uploads but images can be compressed using code, or plugins if you’re on WordPress.
• Browser caching prevents pages reloading the same asset each time someone views a new page.
• Minify CSS and JavaScript because it’s an easy way to reduce the overall file size of the page.
• Applying lazy loading can have a massive performance impact, particularly on image-heavy pages.

Easy to add to an existing website? Some elements of page speed, including the common issues listed above, you could solve on your website now! Larger items may need to wait for a rebuild.

If you need help with website speed and find Lighthouse or Google Page Insights a bit overwhelming, you can use HubSpot’s Website Grader. It cuts through the noise and gets straight to the most important points, including caching, minimizing CSS and JavaScript, and more.

16. Analytics

There’s also one other critical element you should consider when designing your website: analytics.

Analytics can help you determine how your website is currently performing, the pages that attract the most visitors, and how you might improve and iterate on your web design for the long haul.

While you can follow all the design best practices, what makes a good website for you is what works for your users and drives business goals. So track your users, see what they click, where they’re signing up, and repeat what works!

Use my websites as a checklist to build the ultimate website

Hopefully, this article will help you determine some of the most important components to include on your own website. This article includes insights from some of the best UX designers I know, and I hope my tips about whether or not you need to redesign your site, or can bolt elements onto an existing site, are helpful.

Remember: It‘s important to continue testing your web design over time to ensure it continues to meet — and exceed — customers’ expectations.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2010 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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