What makes a good website ?

A good website is of course very much down to personal taste and can change from person to person. There are however, certain essentials that should be considered.

Purpose

The key to any good website - what is the aim or objective of the website? Is it general promotion? Is it to sell things directly? - the purpose should be evident within all areas of a site.

Design

Colours, style, alignments, visual elements - these are all areas that make up a design. A good design highlights the important areas of a website, making it easy for visitors to find what they want quickly and without hassle.

Content

One of the most important areas of a website - visitors go to web sites primarily for information - every page should have a goal and be specifically aimed with the target audience in mind, both with regards the terminology and the way in which it is presented.

Navigation

Links, menus - the way in which people move between pages within a web site. Clear navigation allows customers to find what they want quickly without any undue frustration.

Usability and Accessibility

HTML (the language in which web pages are written) must be properly formed so that the web page is viewable in different internet browsers such as Internet Explore and Mozilla Firefox. Other issues include the use of flash and high quality images - there's not much good having a fancy website if not everyone can view it.

Optimisation

Making the website friendly to search engines (such as Google and Yahoo). Whilst not critical (if other means are used to advertise), if done correctly it means lots of free and targetted traffic.