What does it take to build a good website? You’ve probably seen the ads on television - a great website from a free tool that looks great on every device. Surely that’s too good to be true, right?
In a world where more than a million websites are created each week, finding a way to make your URL stand out is not only helpful—it’s essential in the highly competitive world of e-commerce website design and development. As computers have become more efficient, there has been an increasing expectation that websites will also be highly efficient.
Yet efficiency faces its challenges. We’ve entered a world where smartphones can produce images at an extraordinarily high resolution, and websites can have the tools necessary to gather every single snippet of customer data they can find on potential consumers. How can business owners navigate the perilous waters of website design and provide a product that is useful not only to customers but also to businesses?
Inefficiency Can Be Harmful
The Internet can be a wonderfully quick place. In a matter of seconds, you can find anything from Argentinian recipes to zebra knitting patterns. As Internet users, we can access that information from nearly anywhere - whether it be a smartphone, a laptop, or a traditional computer.
The rapid-fire rate of information on the Internet presents challenges for web developers, however. Customers are notoriously impatient, with research showing that they typically want the information they’re after in a fraction of a second. Any longer, and you may have lost a potential customer.
While many gadgets and gizmos are available to make your website flashy and expansive, the aim for all developers should be the same - to develop an efficient, engaging, and effective website. By considering how your website can be sustainable, you’re actively working to tackle the scourge of inefficiency.
Embracing The Basics
A simple way to get started with sustainable web design is to work on the basics. Many web creators think that it’s great to have all the information needed to be crammed into a single page. However, this can often be a confusing experience, especially if a user only needs a small piece of information.
Simple elements such as content, navigation, and search engine optimization (SEO) can help make your website functional and useful. SEO is simple, low-hanging fruit that can increase performance considerably, but getting the basics right truly matters.
That may involve asking seemingly simple questions, like ‘Are your images optimized?’ or ‘Have you checked your mobile layout recently?’ These small steps can make a world of difference between a poorly optimized experience and a highly effective, robust website.
Taking it to the Next Level
Figuring out where to take your web sustainability journey can be difficult. Many tools are available online that offer various ways to test and monitor different elements of page performance. What metric is best for your site, however?
If you’re a large business, you may have researchers on hand who can identify what metrics are most appropriate to get results - whether that’s developing an accessible and inclusive site or refining pages to reduce server impact every time a customer jumps onto your website.
For smaller businesses, sticking to the key principles of good website design is a great way to get started. Consider these three questions:
Is your design intuitive?
This will differ for every website - for example, a website advertising a nursing home may need detailed instructions and help pages. Conversely, a clothing brand that is advertising to young people may need only a few short prompts to encourage user participation.
Is your website simple and easy to use?
While it’s remarkably easy to add more content to a website, sometimes the easiest thing is to keep things simple. If your website is constantly changing, your customers might have difficulty finding the information they need.
What are you learning from your website?
Testing your website on a regular basis can be a great way to identify areas of improvement.
Get The Right People
If you’ve read through this article and are still confused about what you can do to make your website more sustainable, it may be time to reach out to a professional. Web development can sometimes feel complicated and difficult to understand - and it can be highly beneficial to have a chat with an expert.
Beware any company that claims AI is the solution, however. While the power of artificial intelligence can seem alluring, particularly in the realms of content creation - it can be horrendously inefficient. In fact, search engines such as Google are actively working to remove AI-generated SEO content - highlighting just how important genuine, organic content can be.
Understanding what it takes to build a sustainable website can be a challenge - but the rewards can be immense for those who rise to the challenge. So next time your website is a little slow, ask yourself - what can you do to make it better for your customers?
