Basic Essentials
Keeping everything user-friendly is always a key imperative, and it should start right back when you are thinking about your domain name, which should be as brief as possible, while containing as much information on who you are at the same time. A .com address is preferable, with avoidance of any complicated words or long addresses, which are susceptible to error. Navigation should always be kept simple, with your site navigation bar at the top of the page, and ensure that your contact details are immediately visible on the page, before people start to scroll down.
Being Responsive
People are going to be viewing your website, or at least trying to, from all manner of different mobile devices and it is essential that your site is friendly, responsive and visible to all of them. Probably the simplest way to do this is to use a web development platform which automatically recognises the device and adjusts the website accordingly. The other option involves creating additional websites, with URLs very similar to your own, which will be dedicated to certain devices, though each requires its own website, URL, host and domain. Google though does reward responsiveness and gives such sites preference.
Fresh and Informative Content
Your website is your advert to the world and the homepage is the most important, so if the content is boring and uninformative, you are doing yourself an injustice. People looking for information want to find exactly that, so your site should be filled with the useful answers that they are looking for. The more information you provide, the more knowledge you are seen as providing, with Google rewarding experts in their field.
The Professional Touch
It is certainly true that using the many free tools available for building your own website like Limecube website builder, it is perfectly possible to build your own website, but when you think you are done, or have gone as far as you can, it is definitely advisable to get a professional to test everything to ensure it is all set up and functioning correctly. When things don’t work on your site, people start leaving for sites that do quite quickly.
Every page of your website needs a call to action, with repeated ones on the home page, immediately visible when the page opens and again at the foot, with phone numbers clearly visible, a hyperlink to your contact page, and details or symbols of all other ways of contacting you , such as Facebook.
