Updated for 2023

Having a well-designed website is something every business owner needs. The main reason for a well designed website is to create an image of a serious and professional business owner. A poorly designed website places your reputation at stake.

Bear in mind that standards are constantly changing. Boundaries are being pushed every day. If you are to succeed you need to keep up with the demands of the market.

The following article will concentrate on the key elements that your website needs in 2023 to improve its overall performance and effectiveness.

2014 will be remembered as the year when mobile web came to the forefront.

Mobile web is no longer a novelty.

It has become common sense that your website should be optimized for mobile devices.

Mobile optimize your website to increase its responsiveness (allow visitors to view your site on whatever device they want) and benefit your site visitors who now visit your site more often with their mobile device.

Do not forget to make the navigation of the website user friendly for all the platforms, since people are usually put off by complexity.

Google has also placed greater emphasis on mobile web optimization.

Sites which are mobile optimized will now benefit from higher rankings and thus improved traffic to your site.

Don’t miss out on this important factor.

Reviews and testimonials are now everywhere.

Every business must have some sort of customer validation for their products or services in order for the visiting public to take you seriously.

Because testimonials are so commonplace on websites every nuance can make your testimonials stand out from the crowd.

This is where video testimonials comes to play.

Video testimonials create greater authenticity and have additional SEO value for your site.

It is a proven fact that people will stay longer on your website if there are videos on it, plus your website will be benefit from a higher ranking in Google.

There are a number of tools and apps to create videos but having a video testimonial app such as VocalReferences makes the task all that easier.

Uploading your videos to YouTube will also give you more SEO juice.

YouTube is the second most popular search engine after Google.

Being found in YouTube can be as significant as being found in Google.

In 2020, avoid 3D shadow and 3D texture.

A more flat design is actually preferable today by the visitors.

A suitable homepage picture and clear message can go a long way to make an impression on your web visitors.

Take some time to conduct a survey to select the most appropriate and effective picture.

Make sure that the picture is aesthetically consistent with your website theme.

It should be abundantly clear to your visitors how to take action; to make a purchase or download certain content.

Take a look at sites like Amazon, eBay, Skype etc. – these are good examples of sites which have clear calls to action.

A blog gives you the opportunity to give sound suggestions to your consumers, provides them with relevant information concerning your services, and provides you with some textual content which you can use for linking and inbound marketing.

Furthermore, it is an efficient way to socialize with your visitors and convert them into customers.

In addition you should sign up for a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Places account.

After posting new content on your blog you should share it with all your contacts and on all the popular social media sites.

Sharing will ensure greater coverage, readership and hopefully increased viral opportunities.

In the old days having a site with a menu and many, many pages was the norm.

Today with the increased used of mobile devices, flatter sites and long pages are the new norm.

The mobile device re-introduce the benefits of scrolling.

With the flick of a finger a visitor to your site can navigate with ultimate ease through your page and learn more about your value proposition.

If you need to introduce another page make sure it is absolutely necessary for getting the user engaged to either sign-up or purchase.

In summary you need to think about design, testimonials, content, imagery and messages.

If you can bring them all together, you will have a successful website for 2020!