10 tips for a better website
Wondering how to improve your Web site? Read how to do it in 10 tips.
1. Let every decision you make on your website be centered on your visitor.
Try to think like a visitor on your website. What would work best for the visitor? Ask people around you, use a feedback option on your Web site and look at your Web site statistics.
2. Everyone participates!
It is important that your website be accessible to everyone. Just as someone with a wheelchair should have access to the train station or town hall, someone with less or no vision should be able to navigate your website properly. Consider good header structure, accessible PDFs, no text on images, non-decorative images provided with an alt text and sufficient contrast on your website.
3. Provide a good introduction on each page.
Indicate what the visitor can do and expect on the page. For search engines such as Google, a good introduction works to better index the page.
4. Make use of a call to action button.
A visitor on a page would like to get to the part he is looking for as quickly as possible; besides, each page has a purpose and you can direct the visitor to it with such a button. It is best to place on each page preferably one, and no more than two call to action buttons. With too many buttons the visitor gets confused: what should I click on?
5. Create good descriptive links
Still, "Click here" is often used. However, users know they can click on a link. Therefore, it is not necessary to use "Click here" on a link. Suppose the Sloterburg Municipality has a page about a building permit with a link where more information can be found, sometimes "Click here for more information" is used, but "Information building permit Municipality Sloterburg" is a much better link. This is because it is clear what the link is about and what you can find there.
6. Use white space for peace and overview
White space gives calmness and overview. Visitors find the information they want faster. By using white space, you can give important parts of your website more attention. In fact, more white space around a certain part indicates that it is an important part. An additional tip is to keep it simple and choose black or dark gray text.
7. Use listings and lists
Enumerations and lists make your page clear and allow visitors to quickly read the information they need. Just make sure the lists don't get too long. A maximum of seven items in a list keeps it organized.
8. Use meta descriptions on as many pages as possible
A visitor to your website often starts in Google. Make sure the descriptions of the search results there are correct. These descriptions are called meta descriptions. In our website solution, you can fill this description in the teaser paragraph or in the right-hand column under the heading "meta tags." The more pages that have a meta description, the better it is. To make a start, you can provide the homepage and the top 20 most visited pages with a meta description.
9. Keep users on your website longer by displaying relevant content on pages.
Besides helping to show the visitor more relevant content, it is also an opportunity for the organization to give more to the visitor. You will see that this will also lower the bounce rate on news articles, for example. The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who enter a particular page and leave the website immediately after visiting it. It is also better for the Google indexing of your website if visitors stay longer on the website.
10. Use tools like Google My Company and Google Search Console.
It is advisable to provide as much information as possible about your organization and website to Google. In Google My Business you can provide your address and opening hours, as well as respond to user reviews and questions. In the Google Search Console, for example, you can pass on the sitemap, request a re-index of a certain page and find out which search terms attract visitors to your website.
Questions?
Want to know more about websites and CMS? Or about switching to our website solution?
