I. Thou Shall Always KISS
You have heard this before, the saying goes Keep It Simple, Stupid or Keep It Stupid Simple. The greatest error one can do is to overload a website, particularly on the index page. Be concise and clear.
II. Thou Shall Be “Übersichtlichâ€
Yeah, it’s not necessary to attempt to pronounce it. It is from the german language, a phrase that ultimately implies for something being very easily understood by looking at it once. Now apply this idea to your website development.
III. Thou Shall Know “Content is King”
No matter how straightforward your website is, it still requires content. Even though you have a very simple product or service to sell, make an effort to provide your site visitors something to read and consider. A consistent flow of articles and posts will also help you in search engine rankings, add videos, freebies to download along with other things, this helps keep site visitors busy and engaged.
IV. Thou Shall Use Intuitive Navigation
This will go hand-in-hand with Commandment II. Whenever a website visitor hits your website they do not want to have to figure out how to use it. With increased content, it usually is preferable to group links into categories. Remember the unwritten three-click-rule which says that the website visitor shouldn’t require more than 3 mouse clicks to access what they are seeking. Obviously, this does not always work, particularly with larger websites. However, you get the idea. A far more sophisticated service website can use How-To and Support pages, perhaps even instructional videos. Everyone loves to view videos.
V. Thou Shall not Irritate Your Visitors
Go easy in what you toss at the visitor. Do not bombard them with colors and contrasts, meaningless graphics and texts. There’s a massive overuse of stock graphics and jargon. Stay away from making the visitor feel dumb and out of place. Remember Commandments I. and II. in this regard.
VI. Thou Shall Be Perfect
Nobody is perfect, however, your website really should attempt to be. Which means look for mistakes and dead links or missing graphics. This is especially of importance to catalogs and their descriptions. Grammar and correct punctuation seem to be a forgotten art, your sites content need to be as excellent as can be. This too connects with Commandment X.
VII. Thou Shall Know “It’s All About Google”
Everyday discussions more often than not contain the words “Google” or “Hey Google”. Google continues to maintain dominance as the KING of the search jungle. When the King makes a decree, your site needs to obey their new rules. Your site has to fit with the Googles latest and greatest SEO standards which change often, so it can rank well in search results. Once you’re up to standard with Google you will additionally integrate properly with all the other search engines.
VIII. Thou Shall Be Social: Go Hug A Customer
Be connected with social media sites. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram at the very least. You depend on upon people to share and spread your Amazing & Wonderful products and services. Respond to questions and become awesome. Individuals always return to the websites that had been nice to them, and social media is a terrific way to be considered a Nice Guy.
IX. Thou Shall Be Mobile Friendly
With Google’s mobile mandate closing in on being enforced for almost seven years. If your site is not mobile-friendly, you have been kicked to the curb. 60% of all web interactions occurs from a mobile device. Google clearly stated way back on April 21st of 2015 that your site won’t be listed in mobile search results. If you’re site is not mobile friendly you are missing out on 60% of potential new customers. So design your website to be responsive, which means it instantly adjusts itself to browser window dimensions. This means then that your page is accessible from phones and tablets.
X. The Webmaster Shall Not Rest
Your website is by no means is ever finished. Continue to keep updating it, examining your statistics, modifying things, introducing new, interesting things. A website is similar to a store: you cannot just open up the doors and expect the shoppers to walk in and then leave you money. You have to update your products, clean it out, provide a fresh paint-job (meaning a site re-design) if it is getting worn out, connect with customers and continue to keep your content and codes up-to-date.