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A well designed website is often seen as having intangibles that are difficult to define. Some websites just look and work great. But all well designed website share fundamental qualities that were expliciting included during its development. Below we share four fundamentals of great web development.

1. Content not clutter. Web design should balance negative space with key information to lead the visitor from page to page using only the information necessary to complete a user’s goals. For example, eliminate non-essential graphics, background music, gratuitous animations and other distractions. These elements, notwithstanding the clutter, slow web page load times, which lead to high bounce rates, retention rates, and lower conversions.

2. Useful navigation. A website’s navigation should serve only one purpose - facilitating user navigation. Too often, in an attempt to be unique or trendy, web developers will design navigation that is not easy to find, understand, or use. Obviously the opposite of what navigation should do.

3. Cross device testing. With a majority of people on the Internet utilizing multiple devices to access the web, responsive design (e.g. a website that responds optimally to different screen sizes), has become a standard online. But for a website to be truly “responsive”, it must also be tested for screen size compatibility. Comprehensive cross device testing ensures that users will be able to navigate a website as easily on a desktop as a smartphone.

4. SEO integration. Integrating an SEO strategy into a website should start in design and continue through development and testing. SEO integration should include readable URLs, metadata, (such as page titles), and content coded with appropriate HTML tags. It is also important that long term SEO marketing efforts can be supported using the website by making making sure all content, including metadata, is manageable via a CMS.

Avatar New York is an innovating, award-winning web design New York firm dedicated to providing clients with responsive websites that help grow brands and convert visitors to customers. With an expertise in web development, branding, cloud hosting, mobile app development, and CMS and e-commerce solutions, Avatar New York's top tier designers have the ability to create intelligent websites for any type of business.