What Are The Building Blocks Of A Great Website?

Online presence has become one of the most important factors for every business today. That's why you find every company working hard to make sure that it is seen on social media. In fact, some companies go a step further and hire influencers to market their brand. But, social media isn’t the only contributor to a brand’s online presence. A great website can give you similar results provided you meet the demands.

So, what are the requirements for a great website? If you go deeper into this topic, you’ll realize that there’re a lot of things to be considered before your site can compete with the best in the market. For instance, the domain and graphics are some of the pillars that one can never miss. Looking to build your new website? Click here for more info on what to expect. 

Recommended: 7 Proven Ways to Build a Website That Customers Will Love

Now, here are a few building blocks that every website should have:

1. Domain

If you’ve ever been to any business class, then you know the importance of your company name. This is one of the most significant features of a brand, and it’s the same case with a website.

A domain name is what distinguishes your website from others within the same niche. This feature is what might determine the success of your business as it enhances the strength of the brand. But, of course, for you to realize all these benefits, there are a few factors that must be kept in mind. Let's take a look!

• Relevance

 It might seem like an obvious factor, but many people ignore this element. The domain name you choose to use should always be relevant to the type of business you’re running. For instance, you can’t use a health-related term as part of the name of your entertainment-based website. Well, there’re some that might work, but it’s always recommended that you use terms within your niche to avoid confusion.

• Uniqueness

Finding a name within your industry can be easy, but it becomes a bit tougher when you’re required to be as unique as possible. One tip for you to get this right is to consider the business objectives. What’s that thing that your company or website will be providing and no other competitor has exploited? If you find that specific service or product, you can go ahead and curate a name based on it. 

However, be careful not to be too specific to a point where potential customers don’t understand what you’re dealing with. This is always an issue with those companies trying to introduce a new product to the market. It can be quite tough, but finding that balance between uniqueness and popularity is something you should prioritize.

• Easy Recall

The third element of a good domain name is its simplicity. Can a customer who has just seen your name for the first time remember it after several days? You should, therefore, make sure that you use a simple word that’s quite popular among your target audience.

This is where your creative skills are tested. Once you get all these three factors right, you’ll be on your way to an enjoyable ride on the online market.

2. Hosting Provider

Web hosting is another very important building block of a great website. If you’ve ever been frustrated due to a website’s downtime, then you know how inconvenient it can be for the customer. Finding reliable web host services should be one of your top priorities.

If you’re not familiar with these services, they’re agencies specialized in ensuring that all your data is not only safe but also retrievable by the users whenever required. So, what are some of the things to consider when choosing a web host provider?

• Server Reliability

Any inconvenience is the last thing you would want to serve your customers. Therefore, while trying to find a reliable web host, make sure to consider reliability. You can base this on the host’s previous downtime history. How many times have its clients complained of having limited access to data?

Another criterion of checking server reliability is by considering the agency’s backup plans. Does it have a backup station somewhere else? Ideally, this should be at a different location where it won’t share common local problems with the main facility. The best provider should have several backup locations to ensure that your customers aren’t inconvenienced by an unprecedented occurrence at the main station. 

• Upgradable Plans

Usually, it’s recommended that you opt for a shared server at the beginning of your online journey. One of the main reasons this is an ideal option for first-timers is because of the affordable price.

However, somewhere along the road, you might need to upgrade to a dedicated server to avoid the limitations that come with the shared option. Therefore, it’s important that you ask about this possibility before signing the deal because some web host providers don’t have upgradeable plans.

• Check For The Essential Features

There's no doubt that every web host service provider comes with all essential features. However, it’s still a good idea to confirm that you’re getting everything needed for the success of your website. For instance, some plans might not include a one-click installer, DNS management, or/and a file manager.  

• Customer Support

Customer support is one of the most essential features of any successful business. As a client, you should be able to reach the relevant representatives at any time from any place.

For instance, if you’re running an international e-commerce website, there are chances that something might come up in the middle of the night. You wouldn’t want to wait until morning for you to sort out this issue; that’ll be a dealbreaker for most customers. Therefore, make sure your service provider is available round the clock and every day of the week.

Customer care availability is one thing, and the quality of their services is another. You'd want someone who can give you the right information in a manner that can be understood by any ordinary person.

Of course, this isn’t something you’ll learn on the first day. As such, it’d be a good idea to search for a reliable source of feedback from previous customers. This way, you’ll be able to critically judge any candidate.

3. Content

Content is king! This statement will never grow old, and it continues to be relevant in today’s online arena. In fact, the quality of whatever you post had become more significant because of stiff competition. Regardless of how good a website is built; it will never survive without topnotch content. So, what determines the quality of a web post? For your content to compete with the best, it should be relevant, engaging, and simple to understand for the customers.

• Relevance

Relevance isn’t only applicable to the domain name, but also to the posts you publish on your website. Every professional will tell you that the first step to online success is to carve out a niche. Identify whatever is missing in a given community and work toward filling that gap. This objective should be evident in your web content, and that’s where your posts’ relevance comes in.

Before you publish any content, it’s always important to review the goals of your website and what your audience really needs. For instance, there’s no viable reason – well, unless you provide an explanation – you should post something about computer games on a website focusing on kitchen tasks like recipes. 

• Audience Engagement

Even with the most relevant content, you’re going to struggle to attract enough audience if your posts aren’t engaging. What makes your content engaging is the tone used to create it and how everything is arranged. For one, you shouldn’t depend on word alone in this day and age. Images, memes, and videos are some of things that can make your posts very interesting for the reader. 

• Simplicity

When you post something on your website, readers with different educational backgrounds are going to access it. Therefore, make sure that whatever you write can be understood by everyone.

Keep in mind that there are those who can read the most complex content, but they’d still prefer to enjoy simply written posts. As you publish anything on your website, always remember that it’s supposed to be a relaxing experience for the reader rather than an English test. 

Conclusion

Building a website is continuously becoming a requirement for any competitive business. There are many factors that should be considered when it comes to this subject, but the main ones include content, domain name, and web hosting services. 

Both the domain name and content posted on your website should be as simple as possible and relevant to the goals of your online business. To reduce any inconvenience caused to the customer, it’d be prudent to find a reliable web host provider that has various backup servers.

As a beginner, it can be difficult to get any of these elements right. As such, it’s recommended that you hire a professional to take care of these tasks.

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