Did you know that a visitor forms an impression of your business in less than 3 seconds when they land on your website? You know how quick we are to leave if the information we're looking for isn't immediately obvious.
You probably already have a website — either it's decent but could be improved, or it's starting to look dated and you're researching best practices for a modern, professional site. Here are 11 tips to make your website look even more professional.
1. Your Domain Name
No domain name, no website. It's the very first thing people see — even before the page loads (and even outside the web, on business cards, etc.). So choosing the right domain name matters.
You'll always find exceptions, but here are the main things to consider:
- Use simple words and don't repeat them
- Keep it short
- The domain should reflect your brand name
- Spelling should be as intuitive as possible
- Make sure it's available as a .com (the most widely used extension in the US)
- Register both the .com and any relevant country-code TLD (.co.uk, .ca, etc.)
- Include keywords if possible (but don't force it — readability comes first)
Check domain availability here: whois.domaintools.com
BONUS: I also recommend checking whether your domain and brand name are available across social media: namecheckr
2. A Homepage That Gets to the Point
You need to create emotion, spark curiosity, and communicate your value in as few words as possible. For some industries, visuals — images, videos, CSS animations — will do the heavy lifting. In every case, you need to be visual.
The one-page website trend has heavily influenced homepage design. A modern homepage is long and touches on every aspect of the business. If you're unsure how to structure yours, here's a template to work from (top to bottom):
- A hero section or large image that shows not what you are, but how you bring value to your customers
- Your service areas
- A deeper explanation of your core offering (especially if you focus on something very specific, like a mobile app or SaaS product) — or more details on each service
- Key facts about who you are
- Client testimonials that make an impact
- Logos of partners and clients
- Case studies or portfolio work
- Your blog section
Every section of your homepage should have a call to action. Guide your visitors toward pages that provide more detail and encourage them to take action (purchase, free trial, etc.).
BONUS: Don't try to say everything on the homepage. If you want to rank well on Google, don't build a one-page site. Use the one-page style for the homepage layout (it's trendy and practical), but dedicate a separate page to each service your business offers. Give Google coherent content — cover the full topic of the keyword you're targeting on each page.
3. Use Icons
Icons are an excellent way to make your website look more polished:
- Impactful — Some icons are universally recognized by internet users
- Reassuring — E-commerce sites use them heavily to build trust around shipping, security, etc.
- Quick to read — A picture is worth a thousand words, right? What about an icon?
4. Coordinate Your Colors
It's hard to find definitive data on how colors influence consumers — the research is often debated — but here's what one study shared on shortstack.com found:
- 80% believe that color choices affect how quickly people recognize a brand
- 84.7% of consumers cite "color" as the primary factor in a purchase decision
So how do you make sure you don't pick a bad color combo? No need to have gone to art school to create a cohesive color palette. There are free online tools that let you build one in a few clicks. Here are a few I use myself:
- For soft, material/flat design colors: materialpalette and material.io
- For more flexibility: coolors.co
- This one generates a color palette using AI (deep learning) that analyzes thousands of photos from popular photographers, filmmakers, and artists — it's fascinating: colormind.io
5. Use Large, Beautiful Images
For background images, for instance. Building on the same idea behind icons, large images make your message more impactful. The visual supports and amplifies the meaning of your text.
For images in general, always use high-resolution files — but not so large that your page takes 10 seconds to load. Visitors and Google both hate that.
6. Create a Clear Content Hierarchy
You only have a few seconds to grab attention, so make your content easy to scan. Design for different reading levels.
A clear hierarchy makes content more readable and encourages visitors to keep scrolling.
- Avoid large blocks of text
- Play with colors (contrast is key)
- Use margins generously
- Use white space to let the page breathe
And above all: don't use too many fonts. Two or three at most.
7. A Quick Reminder: Responsive Design
If your website isn't responsive, it's time for a redesign — Google has been penalizing non-responsive sites since 2013-2014.
More than half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices, and search engines penalize sites that aren't optimized for smartphones and tablets.
8. Use the Full Width of the Screen
From a 4-inch smartphone screen to a 15.6-inch laptop to a 75-inch smart TV, screen sizes have never been more varied. Use the full width of the screen for better ergonomics and aesthetics. Today, content adapts to screen resolution — there's no reason to leave dead space on the sides.
9. Nail Your Navigation and UX
- Put your main message above the fold — Make your value proposition clear without requiring the visitor to scroll.
- Organize your menu hierarchy — It should be at the top of the page (obviously) and structured by the importance of your pages.
- Make your logo a link — Clicking your logo should always take visitors to the homepage.
- Invest in your footer — If someone scrolls all the way down, the footer is the last thing they see. Include useful links: blog, legal notices, menu recap, contact info, FAQ, etc. If people want to learn more about you, make it easy.
10. Choose the Right Partner
If you really want to engage your visitors and create a smooth, intuitive browsing experience, you'll need a web professional.
Making real improvements to your online identity matters for staying relevant and strengthening your brand image.
Ready to make your website look professional and modern? We can help.
11. Work on Your Search Engine Visibility
Know that we'll advise you on SEO from the very start of a project. Sometimes you need to tear things down to make a site Google-friendly.
Picture this: your new site goes live and you post about it on social media — traffic spike. You send a newsletter to your clients — huge traffic spike. Now imagine that SEO wasn't accounted for during the build. POP! The traffic bubble deflates just as fast as it inflated.
Get in touch if you need to be more visible on Google.