What exactly goes into a High End Website Design?
A website isn’t always just a virtual destination on a map; sometimes it is a unique occurrence that provides an unparalleled experience to customers that is both memorable and effortless in its ability to provide users precisely what they need. There is a difference between a high end site and a more standard creation. As one of the top web development companies, today we wanted to share what goes into a high end website design to ensure that you are getting your money’s worth if someone is promising to create one for you.
Ideally your website is serving a purpose such as providing information, generating sales or cultivating conversions of one type or another. It should also create a unique online identity that creates a strong impression with visitors which is positive and memorable.
Top Factors of a High End Website
- Brand Promoter – First and foremost a high end website should be a powerful, driving force behind your brand’s online presence. A professional looking site that is highly effective demonstrates to people the time and energy you are willing to put forth in not only your businesses’ appearance but ability to meet their needs. Additionally the site will showcase your credibility and inspire trust.
- Customized – One of the most important aspects of a high end design is that it should be 100% customized to your needs. While some firms might use templates or borrower code from prior projects, the top firms take the time to build a website from the ground up, tailored to your exact needs both now as well as with plans for expansion in the future. Everything from the typography to color scheme to the images used should all be customized to fit your brand and resonate with your target audience.
- Meaningful Content – Another difference between a more standard website and a high end design is the focus on meaningful, worthwhile content. Text is professionally written, using a captivating style that matches the voice of your brand. Grammatical errors, nonsensical copy that is geared more towards keywords rather than providing information is never present. Instead each piece of content is interesting and professional, designed to provide value to your customers and their needs. This website for the Broadway League is an example of providing the valuable content users want to fulfill their needs.
- Fully Optimized – If you have a website then obviously you want people to find it and utilize it, which is much easier with proper optimization that works hand in hand with your marketing strategy. After all, what is the point of paying for an amazing website if your target audience never visits it? Any reputable web design firm that is creating high end websites should offer assistance with marketing strategies and then ensure the site is optimized properly to meet your current and future goals.
- Well Coded – A professional, inspiring website is created by experienced, highly qualified designers and programmers that understand the nuances of multiple coding languages and the various components that are used to make your site come to life. They understand how to craft pages that are mobile friendly, work seamlessly with any browser, won’t disrupt your users’ activities with errors or broken links, and can easily be added to or updated as business dictates. Examples of well-coded websites can be found here.
- Maintenance Program – When you buy a luxury car it often comes with a maintenance plan that helps ensure that your investment is protected and running optimally. The same concept should apply to your high end website design. Once the site is launched, the work shouldn’t be considered complete but instead the focus of the work changes. Regular maintenance, much like with your car, keeps things running smoothly as your site travels along the information super highway. Content and pages will need updating, technology will keep evolving, security measures are regularly improved and even functionality needs can change as your business needs do.
Why would you need a High End Website?
The concept of whether you need a higher end website compared to a standard site or even “cheap” site should be more than a matter of preference; it should be a decision based on your business. If your current goals are being met, your site is providing the conversions or exposure you need, and it can handle both current and future needs then your website is doing its job.
However, if your site is not doing its job, then it is time to evaluate your needs.
- Cheap – As defined by Merriam-Webster cheap means, “at minimum expense.” In the world of business there is always a need for cheap options, especially for fledgling businesses or ideas where you simply don’t have the capital to invest in anything better. It will serve your needs for a time until the business grows enough that your needs expand.
- Professional – The upgrade to professional often is a jump of degrees from a cheap site where you move away from cookie-cutter templates and stock designs into more personalized creations to cover specific needs. Often additional needs, like a content management system, are met with WordPress or other third party options rather than a customized one. This stage provides a higher level of brand awareness and trust than a cheap site as well as some authority.
- Premium – The premium or high end site is tailored specifically for your current and future business needs. More analysis takes place before and during the process to ensure that all aspects of the site are optimized and branded to tell your story and create a highly functional site that leaves a lasting impression. For users it is like driving around in a Mercedes versus a Kia.
The bottom line is that a high end website is not for every business. Some companies simply need a barebones site that solves one or two needs online. However as a business grows online and customers needs become more varied, you need to make more of an impression to stand out or your site needs more bandwidth and hosting abilities then it is probably time to start looking into a higher end option that will meet your needs.
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