What Makes a Good Website—Essential Design Elements for Success
Your website is often your business’s first impression online—and let’s be real, people judge quickly. Studies show that visitors form an opinion about your website in just 0.05 seconds (Sweor).
A good website does more than look nice. It should be functional, easy to navigate, and built to convert visitors into customers.
Today I’m breaking down the key elements every website needs to stand out and succeed.
Clear Navigation
People need to find what they’re looking for—fast. Confusing menus or cluttered pages drive visitors away. As Nielsen Norman Group points out, clear navigation is a top priority for usability and keeps visitors engaged longer.
Keep it simple:
Logical menu structure
Descriptive labels (no jargon)
Easy-to-find contact info
Mobile Responsiveness
With over half of web traffic coming from mobile devices, having a responsive website isn’t optional—it’s essential. Google even prioritizes mobile-friendly sites in its rankings.
Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check how your site performs on mobile and ensure it adjusts smoothly across all devices.
Fast Loading Speed
No one likes waiting around. According to GTmetrix, if your site takes longer than 3 seconds to load, you risk losing up to 40% of visitors. Speed impacts both user experience and SEO.
Tips for faster load times:
Compress images
Minimize plugins
Use reliable hosting
Strong Visual Hierarchy
A good website guides the viewer’s eye. Through smart use of typography, spacing, and color, you can lead visitors naturally through your content.
Smashing Magazine recommends designing pages with clear focal points, making it easy for visitors to know what’s most important.
High-Quality Images and Graphics
Low-res images make your site look unprofessional. Invest in high-quality visuals that represent your brand well. Unsure where to source images? Pexels offers free, high-resolution photos and videos for commercial use.
Bonus tip: Always optimize images to keep file sizes small without losing quality.
Clear Calls to Action (CTAs)
What do you want visitors to do? Whether it’s booking a call, buying a product, or signing up for a newsletter, your calls to action should be clear and compelling.
HubSpot offers fantastic examples of CTAs that drive results.
Accessibility
A truly good website is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. That means:
Text that’s easy to read
Proper color contrast
Alt text for images
Use the WebAIM Contrast Checker to ensure your site meets basic accessibility standards.
A great website is more than just good design—it’s about creating a user experience that’s clear, fast, and accessible, while guiding your visitors toward action.
If you’re wondering whether your website is working as hard as it should be, let’s connect. I’d love to help you refine your site to meet today’s best practices and convert more visitors into loyal customers.
