There’s a lot to creating and supporting an effective website. Websites are managed, they don’t stand alone. And the best way to successfully manage a website is to build it with forethought and purpose. There’s a lot to consider. In the original outline for this post, I listed 22 essentials. Essentially… that’s just too many. So I cut it in half to the twelve absolutely necessary website ingredients.

 The Twelve Essentials

  1. Four Core pages – Home, about, product or service, and contact. An argument could be made for customer testimonials as well. It didn’t make the cut from 22.
  2. Call to Action – An easy to use request for quote form, special offers, and time-sensitive discounts.
  3. Continuous content – SEO is dependent on fresh quality content; a blog is the most accessible way to achieve this.
  4. Sitemap – Make it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for.
  5. Contact info on every page – Address, phone, and email.
  6. Terms and conditions – Protect and copyright your content and product.
  7. Present a unified brand- A website should reflect the organization’s marketing by using brand logos, colors, and fonts.
  8. Security – To begin with, use complex passwords. Always stay current on software, consider investing in malware detection services, and if you’re not a designer—ask for help. TKO Tech Talk: Cyber Security
  9. Obtain a relevant domain name – If  your company name is available, get it. If it’s not, be creative. If you’re Joe’s Pizza, but www.joespizza.com isn’t available, is www.eatjoespizza.com available?
  10. Keep it Simple – We say this a lot here at TKO graphix about vehicle graphics, signs, and promotional products, but it must be said for websites as well. Simple is elegant. Don’t let design confuse the message.
  11. Share Social Media Icons – Yes please, but out of the way, no floating side buttons obscuring copy. Don’t make it difficult for visitors to read your content.
  12. Responsive design – Over half the world views websites from mobile, make sure it fits. Your website design should automatically adjust for mobile and desktop screens.

That’s All Folks…or is it? 

There you have it—twelve website essentials. Are there more? You bet. Did we choose the top twelve for every website—absolutely not. It depends on the function and purpose of the site, but these twelve are key to the majority of sites. What would you add or delete from this list? If you’d like to learn more about this all you “essentially” have to do is contact us.