Every website needs a few crucial components to be at the top of its game. Some of these change with new technology, but many stay the same. As a business, you need to ask yourself do you want the ultimate website? Or do you just want a run of the mill solution? If you are willing to make a serious business investment in your future then keep reading!

Responsive Design.

Responsive design was a trend, now it’s becoming a staple. People aren’t visiting websites with just a PC like they were before. Millions have smartphones, tablets, game consoles, and smart TV’s. It’s becoming increasingly important to ensure that anyone can view your website properly from any device. If one person can’t see your website, that means one less potential sale. It might not seem like much, but these numbers can add up quickly! By including responsive design you are helping to maximize your online reach. Don’t do the opposite by overlooking this feature.

A Clear, Intuitive Structure.

Another crucial component of every great website is a clear and intuitive structure. Confusion is one of the biggest enemies when it comes to web design. People need to quickly know exactly what they’re looking at, and where to go on every page. Too much clutter can lead to higher bounce rates and missed opportunities.  Don’t use too many menu items. Keep it as concise as possible.                                                                

A Compelling Story.

Storytelling goes back thousands of years. People have enjoyed hearing stories since the dawn of civilization. Storytelling doesn’t only happen in books or fireside stories. It happens on every business website too. It’s extremely important to tell a great, compelling story. You need to be able to guide every user through a persuasive narrative about your company, products, and value proposition. Don’t make them feel like they’re reading through a product spec sheet. You are selling your company as much as you are your product. In order for consumers to invest in you, they need to believe in your story and vision first. A compelling story that flows through every facet of your website is a major step towards accomplishing this.

Landing pages are a critical component of inbound marketing. They need to be done well, or your campaigns won’t be as successful as you would like. A standard landing page is made up of a few components like a headline, sign up form, and a call to action. These are fairly straightforward, but it’s easy to make an easy mistake if you aren’t careful. Avoid the following at all costs!

Lack of a compelling headline.

A headline is the hook that you lure users with. A great headline can secure many leads, while lackluster ones will only drive bounce rates. Make sure your headline is concise, compelling, and straight to the point. The point of the headline is to keep users on the page, and drive them to the forms below. Try A/B testing to see which types of headlines resonate the best with your audience.

No clear call to action.

A landing page isn’t complete without a clear call to action. The point of a landing page is to acquire leads, and a clear call to action facilitates this. It’s important to ensure that the user knows what he/she is supposed to do on the landing page. Don’t confuse them with tons of links to click on, or a variety of call to actions. Keep the decision tree as simple as possible so your users can get from A to B without having to visit C and D first. More choices equals more confusion. If a child can’t figure out what to do your call to action isn’t clear enough.

Too complicated of a sign up form.

A user’s worst nightmare are long, complicated, tedious forms. Users love great content, but will decide to forego that content if they are greeted with an enormous form. It’s crucial to keep your opt-in forms as simple as possible. Focus on the bare necessities. If you can live with just an email address, use that as the only field on the form. Again, A/B testing with different versions of contact forms is a great way of finding out the perfect number of fields to use. This will help to balance consumer insight while minimizing bounce and form abandonment rates.

Designers love designing. That’s a fact. However, there are quite a few designers out there who dislike coding. The good news is that’s why there are developers to help you out! Focusing on doing what you like to do, and leaving the dirty work for developers is great if you like things like more sales and profit. Why’s that you ask? Well…

Outsourcing development means you can take on more projects.

Depending on the website, it can take a great deal of time to both design and develop a project by yourself. Also, you are limiting your sales by having to do all the work yourself. Outsourcing means you only need to focus on the design and can handle multiple projects at once. More projects in the funnel means more sales!

Outsourcing development can be more cost effective than finding a domestic solution or doing it yourself.

How much do you value your time? $25 per hour? $30 per hour? I guarantee you that you can find someone in places like India that is extremely skilled and is willing to work for less than you or a US developer. Outsourcing means saving costs and receiving the same high quality of work. That means a better bottom line for your business.

Outsourcing development can create a symbiotic business relationship.

Outsourcing helps both you and the developer out. Initially, it means you are finding the business for the developers, but this can change as time goes on. If you can create a close business relationship you may find yourself receiving design projects from the developers in the future. That means you won’t have to spend as much time searching for leads, and will be able to focus on designing. Sounds like a win-win to me!

There's always been a bit of confusion over the differences between web designers and developers among the mainstream. What does development even mean? Isn't it the same thing as design, but just a fancier word? Who drinks more coffee? Who has a scruffier beard? What do I study in college to become a designer or developer? To answer all these questions and more we have scoured the web for a handful of the best infographics. Check them out!

H/T to Visual.Ly , Web Design Ledger , ThemeAlchemy.com , and SixRevisions.com for the great infographics!

There are a ton of CMS options out there for your business to use, but only a few are ideal. It’s important to ask yourself some key questions when deciding which CMS to implement. The answers you give will help to evaluate your options and come to a decision.

How much do I want to pay for my CMS?

This is a very important question because it immediately eliminates many options. Take a look at your budget and determine how much you want/can pay for a CMS. Also, keep in mind that even if there’s room in your budget for a paid option, there are many awesome open-source solutions like MojoPortal, Joomla!, etc. It’s important to remember that if you don’t have an in-house designer/developer, you will also need to allocate money for web design or content migration. Choosing a CMS is only part of the website puzzle.

How many customization options are there?

Another key question is what sort of customization capabilities a CMS has. More customization is always good, but it doesn’t really matter if you won’t need it. Focus on what you need, like crucial add-ons. For instance, e-commerce store integration, or blog/newsletter add-ons. Make a list of all the customization options you will need and then evaluate your options based on that.

Is the solution scalable?

An important factor to consider when choosing a CMS is how scalable it is. Scalability refers to a website’s ability to grow with a business. You will eventually need to invest in a new CMS if your current website management system doesn’t scale very well. It’s important to think long term as well as short term, and find the best trade-off for your business.

How user/novice friendly is the CMS?

User/novice friendliness is crucial if you will be managing your website in-house. It’s even more important if you know that you don’t have any experience with that CMS and need to adjust to it. On the other hand, if you are outsourcing your website management to a development firm, this may not be as big of an issue.

What sort of support options are there?

Customer support is critical in any product. A lot of CMS options out there like WordPress and Drupal have tons of community support available. If you are dealing with another lesser-known option, make sure that the company has great support plans or documentation. It will save you a lot of headaches in the long run!