There’s a lot that goes into a successful website, and I’ve been thinking about which of the three—speed, content, or design—could be considered most important. Let’s consider these in the order that I would argue they impact your user.

Speed

First, speed. When I talk about speed what I mean is how quickly does the site load when first visited and also how quickly does each new page load, how quickly do the images and other media load? You get the idea. Are your users waiting at any point? Are they waiting for very long?

One analogy I’ve heard is a slow-loading website is like a long line at the drive-thru; many people will just go somewhere else for lunch or coffee. And if they choose to endure the wait, it certainly affects their view of the business.

If people leave before even giving you a chance… well, no magic can happen! Fortunately, Studio303 specializes in the creation of static websites (as opposed to things like WordPress or site builders), which, among their chief benefits, is the way they enable speed-minded developers (like us!) to make your site literally as speedy as possible. You can read more about why we choose to work exclusively with static website technologies here.

Design

How does the site look? Your users are taking immediate stock of the appeal of your site, its overall tone and vibe, before they’re able to meaningfully engage with your content. Perhaps it’s a bit dependent on the industry, but the way you present yourself on the web goes a long way toward building trust with your users and convincing them to engage with you further (whether that be buy something, attend something, interact with you, etc.)

There are myriad ways to have an attractive website (and infinite ways not to!), but there are additional considerations beyond the basics. It’s important that your site convey a certain tone, a suggestion of message, with every element: the way the text looks, the color choices, the pictures and graphics. There’s a way to appeal to a highly refined crowd and a way to have a more populist appeal. There’s a way to appeal to teens, and there’s a way to appeal to seniors. You get the idea.

If you choose to work with Studio303, ending up with a beautiful website is a given. But it should also be noted that a crucial step in the process of working together is a discussion where we figure out what you want and how you want to present yourself, what your target audience is, and more. Only once we know this can we build the perfect looking site for you.

Content

And lastly we come to content. Spoiler alert, content is king, as they say. Content is, simply, the entire reason your users are visiting your site. They’re trying to achieve some goal, whether that’s getting the hours of the nearest ice cream shop or shopping for shoes or trying to find out if a provider accepts their insurance—they have a goal, they’ve chosen your site because of that goal, and you better meet that goal.

Of course it’s not simply a matter of the content they need existing on your site. It needs to be meaningfully placed, easy to find, and quick to access. Your entire website should be a festival of meeting relevant user needs and trying to achieve your goals (converting sales, newsletter signups, whatever it may be).

No matter how fast a site is and no matter how attractive it may be, people aren’t going there for those reasons. They need or want something from you, and your site had better deliver that in a reliable, easy-to-use way.

This raises the concept of information architecture. We possess a long professional history in information architecture (both in the library and the web development worlds) and, really enjoy this part of the process. Information architecture is the domain that specializes in the organization and presentation of information. How are things structured? Does this content get nested under other content or should it be its own section or page? While your average user might not often think about these things, websites that succeed do so in part because they have excelled in information architecture.

Users are coming to you because you are you; we can collaborate with you to arrange and present -you- in the best way possible.

Conclusion

Content is so fundamental that it has to win. But, I think it’s clear that without effective and attractive design as well as nailing the technicals to get amazing speed, all that content isn’t going to do you much good. Make the line short and the interior decorating warm and appropriate, and then your content can win your users over.

Studio303 specializes in making custom, highly effective websites. Get in touch.