Appearance and representation plays a key role to one’s success. In order to boost your chances in becoming a successful professional, you also have to look the part. You need to look your best so you can get the respect of the people you work with or cater to.
This rule also applies when creating a website. Your website represents who you are, what you do, and what the readers and potential customers can get from your products and/or services. With that in mind, here are 11 ways to make your website look professional.
Make Your Website Responsive on Mobile Gadgets
Majority of the people get their information by browsing through the net using mobile devices. If you are planning to put up your own website, make sure that it will not only look good on desktops and laptops but also on smart phones and tablets. In addition, check if your website appears really great on all browsers (Chrome, Firefox, etc). Websites such as Screenfly allow you to have a look of your site on different browsers.
Go Easy on the Keywords
Keywords help optimize your website on search engines. However, you should use these keywords sparingly. Keywords can make your content confusing and spammy to read as well as it will get you in trouble with Google for stuffing your site with too many keywords. A keyword density of 10% to 15% already does the trick so 3 to 5 repeated keywords for a 300-word content are already enough.
Choose Colors Carefully
Your website will look professional by choosing the right colors to use. Don’t use colors that are too bright or too bland as this will distract readers from reading your content and might even give them headache. Using too many colors won’t do you good either.
One way to make your website clean and put together is to use a white background and two main colors as accents. Make sure that the colors you use complement each other and are on the right places. This website will help you select the right colors for the kind of business or services that you give (yes, there is science in color).
Avoid Broken Pages
Broken pages are those pages that don’t open when you click a link on any website. This happens when the page doesn’t exist anymore or the URL of that link is wrongly put. Either way, this turns off a lot of readers so make sure that there are no broken links on your website. BrokenLinkCheck.com helps you look for broken links on your website for free.
Make Sure it’s Clutter-Free
One thing that readers don’t like when going to a website is when there are a lot of things going on in the pages. When your website looks like it just finished throwing a party, chances are readers will just close it and try to forget how an eyesore your website is.
To make your website clutter-free, arrange the contents and buttons neatly and make sure the fonts and images are carefully chosen. Save your time and energy from sorting these things out by hiring a web designer.
Update Your Content Religiously
If there are outdated info in your website such as an old address or a promo that ended three years ago, then you should take some time to update it. In addition, make your content as unique as possible; this will help your website stand out from other sites that are similar to yours. Check out this awesome article on how to refresh your old articles.
Make Your “About Me” Page Totally About “You”
Many people don’t know this but the About Me page is the most viewed page on every website. This page is intended for readers to learn more about who the person behind the website is. Unfortunately, this page is ignored most of the time.
Give your “About Me” page a compelling, inviting, and informative content to give readers the idea that you really do know what you are doing. Take time to write something about yourself and/or your company and why readers should stick around with you.
Simplify Your Navigation Menu
One of the worst things that readers can experience is a very complex navigation menu on any website. Am example of a simplified navigation menu only has one line and doesn’t have too many drop downs. When you simply your navigation menu, readers will appreciate how user-friendly your website is.
Blog if you Can
Blogging helps a lot in making your website look consistent and well taken care of. But make sure that you can always come up with topics to blog about so you can impress a lot of readers. Also, you need to be consistent when updating your posts to refrain you from looking lazy and unprofessional website owner.
Avoid Too Many Ads
Your website will look more professional when you have as minimal ads as possible. When readers go to your website and they see a lot of static and moving ads, chances are they will close the window down even before they get the chance to know you. Ads are okay as this also helps in generating income but if your website looks more of a catalog than a representation of you then take some ads down.
Bring Life to It
Lastly, make your website look professional by adding some spice to it. Use highly compelling content and attractive images so that readers will take time to read through your website. There are a lot of boring websites out there so take this opportunity to make yours stand out among the rest. A little uniqueness won’t hurt.
Making your website look professional can be really overwhelming at first. But once you follow these steps, you will give your readers more chance to know you better.