What Makes a Good Website? See Our Essential Checklist

A truly effective website does more than look good—it attracts the right visitors, engages them, and turns them into leads or enquiries. Use this checklist to see what key components make a website successful in both form and function.

Website Success Checklist

Strategic Content Structure

Content map aligns with popular search topics and customer needs.

Easy-to-navigate structure that guides visitors clearly to the information they want.

Unique, Customer-Focused Content

Original descriptions of your products and services—avoid copy/paste from competitors.

Write in the language and tone your target audience uses (not just industry jargon).

Helpful explanations, FAQs, and educational resources.

High-Quality Visuals & Video

Use relevant, high-resolution images throughout the site.

Incorporate video content where it adds value and increases engagement.

SEO-Ready Pages

All pages and key content optimized for your most important keywords.

Proper use of titles, headings, meta descriptions, and on-page SEO best practices.

Conforms to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.

Clear Pathways and Strong Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

Obvious next steps for visitors on every page (contact forms, “get a quote,” “book a call”).

Internal links to related pages for further engagement.

Appealing Design Reflecting Your Brand

Visually cohesive with your logo, colors, and business identity.

Layout, fonts, and imagery all reinforce your brand message.

Fully Responsive & Mobile-Friendly

Works seamlessly on mobile, tablet, and desktop screens.

No broken elements or awkward layouts on smaller devices.

Fast Loading and Clean Code

Built with modern, efficient coding practices.

Scores highly on Google Lighthouse/PageSpeed Insights for speed, accessibility, and usability.

Fast load times for better user experience and higher Google rankings.

Integrated Analytics

Properly set up Google Analytics (or similar) for tracking visitor behavior and performance.

Reporting in place to monitor results and identify areas for improvement.

Skilled, Multi-Disciplinary Approach

Combines expertise from content creators, marketers, designers, SEO specialists, and developers.

Collaboration ensures all aspects—from messaging to mechanics—are done right.

Ongoing Content Plan

Clear strategy for adding fresh, relevant content over time.

Supports SEO, builds authority, and keeps your site growing.

The above inputs come from a range of skill sets including online marketing, content writing, SEO, web design and web development (programming). Understandably it's difficult for one person to be competent in all these skills.

Having a clear understanding of your ongoing content plan for your website is also an important success factor. Read our article on content marketing to gain a current perspective on how to plan a program of content creation for your website.

Contact Adhesion for a consultation or see our small business website packages.