Website user statistics on a global level make for interesting reading. The biggest website currently is an American household name, Facebook, with 869 million unique users. The social media site is used by pretty much everyone over the age of 13. The next biggest global website is Google.com, with 782 million unique users – no great surprise for this search giant.
Other big names are not American, though, including QQ.com, which is a Chinese search engine and portal website with 284 million unique users. You can see the full list of the world’s biggest sites at http://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-websites-in-the-united-states-2013-2?op=1&IR=T.
Learning from Good Websites
These websites are vast, but what do they tell us about what actually makes a good site? Often people look at big websites and assume they need to be modelling their own online presence on these giants. Crucially, though, most of these leading sites actually have a business model or proposition based on the internet. Search engines, portal and aggregate sites, social media and news sites and even online auction and internet businesses all have vastly successful sites because their digital presence is fundamental to their overall business offer.
For businesses looking to create or develop their own online presence, it is useful to take inspiration from the giants, but competitor research amongst those within the same business field or sector can often be more valuable. Customer focus groups, Google Analytics and user story mapping exercises are all vital.
Building the Right Website for You
Remember that your website will reflect your unique business and need to be designed purely with your customers in mind. A website is more than something that looks good – it needs to be highly functional, which is something that a Hemel Hempstead web design agency will be able to assist you with. Your digital strategy needs to reflect your business proposition. Is your website going to need to deliver sales, recruit sign-ups, engage conversation, sell widgets or inform stakeholders?
Do you know what your audiences are and why they will visit you online? What is your digital proposition and is it fully aligned with your business strategy? These strategic questions will help you to design your new site and consider functionality and customer journeys before even getting onto the ‘fun’ bit such as design and architecture.
Remember that the best websites are designed by experts in the field and require significant amounts of in-depth development work to create. Responsive platforms, rich content, social media and e-commerce integration – all of these things are key concerns. By working with a digital agency such as 24-7website.co.uk, you will get vital support for your digital strategy development as well as delivery of the end product – ideally, with a CMS so that you can maintain your site going forward.
When you are looking to build your next business website, don’t focus wholly on the biggest sites as models. Look instead at your business, your niche, your customers and your own digital strategy before creating the right site for you.