Design, HTML, Optimization, & Page content are a few of the factors that determine the success… or failure of a website.
Whether you are considering a new website or rebuilding your existing site, the unseen technical details matter.
Proper on-page HTML structure, schema markup, local citations, and keyword strategy are just a few items that need to work together for a website to be successful.
Think of this like buying a BMW. You’re dreaming of the high performing engine, suspension, and the precision german engineering that comes with a BMW. Only you find out that you bought what looked like a BMW, but performed like a car ready for the junk yard. The unseen parts matter.
Website Design is #1?
Quality design does play a crucial part in the overall user experience and interaction of a website.
What website design does not do, is compensate for poorly coded web pages that lack essential details for search rankings and optimization. Design can be beautiful and should be considered as integral, but it’s not the all-in-one solution that agencies often sell it to be.
You can trust what I am saying here. I have been designing brands for over 20 years and I love a great design, but I also know that design is just one part of the equation that goes into a successful website.
If you want a website that performs like a BMW, precision website engineering is a requirement… and an investment.
SEO, CWV, and other website terms you should know.
A good agency will explain, educate, and help their clients understand the value of a successful website.
The nuts and bolts of a successful website list can be quite long. Here are a few essentials that every website needs in order to be successful online.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Spoon feed Google what your website is all about. Lots of technical detail here, but if you want to improve your search rankings, SEO should be your focus. Just remember that SEO is a marathon and not a sprint.
CWV (Core Web Vitals)
Googles measurement of how a website performs. These results play a factor in your search rankings. Measurements include page speed, mobile responsiveness, SEO quality, and Accessibility. Use a tool like Web.dev to score a website and see what parts of your website need your attention.
Schema Markup
Website Schemas are essentially words or tags in a “shared vocabulary” that help search engines more accurately display relevant results to users. Schemas can provide improved search results by talking directly to Google & Bing and help refine search results.
Local Citations
A local citation is any mention of your business’s Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) online. Citations are used very often in today’s digital world. Places like business directories or social networks—anywhere someone might be looking for information about local businesses.
Keyword Strategy
Keywords are words and phrases used by someone to search and find what they’re looking for online. A keyword strategy should be developed specifically for your business to determine the right keywords to target and track and what are the best actions to take that will produce results.
Responsive Layout
Simply put, responsive layouts allow a website to be viewable on mobile devices and can easily adapt content to varying screen sizes.
Page Content
Everyone knows what page content is but what some may not know is that Google wants you to tell them the priority of your page content. It’s easy to do with proper headline structure. Approach your page content like an outline with the name of your page/post being your H1. All H2’s would be each primary bullet point, H3 or H4’s would end up being sub-bullets and then paragraph copy comes in to support any of the H2, H3, or H4 headlines.
There is a lot more that goes into a successful website but these terms are a great start to helping you understand a few critical details that make a website a success… or a failure.
This is also why it is critical to work with an experienced agency that knows what it takes but also is willing to help you understand the value of a high performing website.
A process that is easy to follow.
Building a successful website can be complicated but that does not mean it should be confusing.
Albert Einstein, the father of science was once quoted as saying “The only source of knowledge is experience.” Experience tells us that the build and development of a website should be as smooth as possible from the outset of a project.
It may seem simple, but having phases or steps in a process help categorize what needs done and they clearly communicate where the project stands. An agency should prioritize keeping the process simple even though there may be hundreds of tasks along the way.
At Whistle Stop Digital we have combined our 22+ years of experience with our best and most proven methods to develop our low cost website plans. We make it easy and cost-effective to launch your website in as little as four weeks. Thats our promise.
Check out how easy our four step proven process is and how simple we like to keep it. Your success is our success so we do our best to make building your dream website easy.
