What Makes A Website Good?

I was speaking with a CEO the other day who asked me this simple question, "what makes a website good?"

I thought it was a good topic to unpack, since building a good website requires both an understanding of marketing psychology, as well as knowing what Google likes.

Google likes fast, and Google likes mobile-friendly, because Google is trying to deliver a good user experience.  So if your website takes more than 3 seconds to load on a mobile phone, that's strike one.

But Google is also trying to deliver search results that match a query.  So your website should also be SEO optimized for attainable, long-tail keywords, and have more popular websites using it as a reference via "backlinks".  I'll explain more about SEO next week.

But having a technically optimized website is only half the battle.  Visitors need to feel as though you "get them" and are the right brand for them to do business with.  The psychology part of marketing is actually quite interesting.  It turns out that when someone clicks on your website, you only have about 5 seconds to capture their attention so they'll scroll before they click away.  That's not much time at all.  The implication is that the part of your home page that loads before you have to scroll is key.  Here are 3 key questions to ask about that section:

1.  Is it immediately clear what you do?
2.  Does the copy and/or photo describe the aspirational end state of your target client?  In other words, is it about them more than about you?
3.  Does it include a call-to-action?  Are you asking them to book/reserve/buy etc.?

If you answered yes to these 3 questions, chances are that more visitors will scroll to see more.  Here are the additional elements they'll need to see in order to make sure you're a fit for their needs, and feel a connection to your brand.

- what makes your brand unique
- what they'll lose if they don't buy (the cost of doing nothing)
- your brand's value proposition
- why you're the best brand to help them
- 3 easy steps on how to buy from you
- 3 packages
- FAQs or an explanatory paragraph about you that makes them feel as though they did their due diligence
- the opportunity to make a small commitment (give you their email in exchange for something they value), or a big commitment (book a call or buy something).

Follow this flow on your home page, and your website should be off to a great start!