Creating a new website for your business, or perhaps improving an outdated site? Are you focused on the design and optimization? The following factors should be considered essential in creating the best site imaginable:

• Speed. According to SocialMediaToday.com, 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load. Always aim for clean and fast—functionality is crucial.

• Responsive. Perfect your text size, minimize load times, and avoid overlapping designs, unclickable buttons, or empty pages. Google also penalizes non-mobile friendly sites, so accessibility on all platforms and devices is significant for your online success!

• Stylish. Your intended mood or impression must be decided on and made clear. Choose your color pallet carefully—one neutral color and one bright color for balance is generally sought after.

• Legible. Take your time selecting the right font. Avoid basic scripts such as Arial or Times New Roman—but be sure it is clear to read for all types of eyes. Polished and well-defined brands typically have their own custom fonts or designs. Allow your site to be easy on the eyes and aesthetically pleasing with a balance of text, images, and white space.

• Easy navigation. Remain as minimal as possible. Map out your website to allow a simplified user experience, but also steer viewers in the intended direction of the website. Google analytics is available to help identify which of your pages receives what type of traffic, and how it flows through your site. If necessary, reorganize or rearrange your pages for better traffic results.

• Clear. Display your mission or slogan up front as the first thing for viewers to see. You need to grab those that you are looking for—those that are in need of your product or service should be drawn in. Try grabbing the attention of a specific group of people, not everyone. Entry rates, exit rates, and bounce rates for individual pages can be helpful in identifying if you are attracting the right type of viewers. A high number of entries and high percentage of traffic bouncing points to an issue with a particular page.

• Valuable. Stand out and be unique. Blogs, creative online sales, and personalized tone of written material must add value and enhance your brand. You want visitors on your website as long as possible. Make them want to stay!