Great websites combine content, speed and usability into powerful solutions to their visitors’ problems. The combination of all three leads to increased traffic and subsequent revenue for site owners. In addition, content and speed also optimize search engine results, making your site easier to find on the internet.

Here are nine ways to improve your website:

Relevant content

The best websites have focused content that their site visitors value. For example, Craigslist will never win a design contest, but it has millions in annual revenue due to the relevant content that it provides.

1. Make it better

The number one way to create value is to take something mundane and make it better. Highrise simplified CRM and made it easier to track correspondence. Dropbox took file sharing and made it easier to manage, eliminating expensive servers along the way.

2. Solve a problem

The flip side of the same coin is to solve a problem. GuitarTricks makes it convenient to learn guitar at your own pace rather than on a local teacher’s schedule. Take away your visitor’s headaches and they’ll love you for it.

3. Be proud of your price

The best way to annoy visitors is to hide your pricing. “Call for details” is a sale killer, especially on the Internet. If they wanted to call, they’d be on the phone, not on your website. If you’re not proud enough of your price to post it, then maybe it’s too complicated or too expensive for what you’re offering.

Speed

In our instant, fast food world, website visitors’ expectations are measured in fractions of a second. You need to deliver your content fast, or you’ll lose traffic to competitors.

Google found that moving from a 10-result page loading in 0.4 seconds to a 30-result page loading in 0.9 seconds decreased traffic and ad revenues by 20% (Linden 2006). When the home page of Google Maps was reduced from 100KB to 70-80KB, traffic went up 10% in the first week, and an additional 25% in the following three weeks (Farber 2006).

Tests at Amazon revealed similar results: every 100 ms increase in load time of Amazon.com decreased sales by 1% (Kohavi and Longbotham 2007).

- from The Psychology of Web Performance

Don’t handicap your business by using outdated “spaghetti code” or cheap web servers. The money you save in programming and servers will quickly be lost to competitors because your site is too slow.

4. Build lean, clean code

Not all websites (or web developers) are created equal. Just as if you were building a house, you want to build on a solid foundation that meets industry requirements and construction norms. Ask your web developer if all of their websites are:

• W3C standards compliant;
• Optimized for modern web browsers (not just Internet Explorer);
• Accessible for all users (key for good search engine results).

5. Use fast servers

Once you have a structurally sound website built on industry standards, be sure to deliver it using fast servers. Although having a local server service may be reassuring in a 1990′s kind of way, choosing a web host based on uptime, support and speed (regardless of where their head office is), will yield better performance and happier visitors.

6. Use a content delivery network

Hosting your website on only one server isn’t enough to meet the rising expectations of impatient visitors. Thankfully, cheap (and even free) “content delivery networks” will mirror your content on several servers across the globe, and select the closest server whenever a visitor requests your site. CDNs reduce load times and keep your visitors on your site longer.

Usability

Like the party bore whose every sentence starts with “I”, too many websites focus on what the site owner wants to say rather than on what the visitor wants to hear. Make sure that your website is designed with your users in mind rather than your resume.

7. Focus on only one type of visitor

Although it’s tempting to try and cast a wide net, the best websites focus on a particular niche and then serve that niche exceedingly well. Imagine what your target customer wants and then tailor your website to fulfill those needs.

8. Make it obvious

Simpler is better: “If the user can’t find it, then it doesn’t exist.”

Design each page to focus on only one action that you want the visitor to perform — i.e. filling out a contact form, buying a product etc. Don’t make them think, and you’ll go a long way to helping your site visitors get what they came for. (The Tumblr home page is a great example.)

9. Embrace constraints

Most importantly, “let limitations guide you to creative solutions“. Like climbing a mountain, decide what backpack your going to take (your limitations) before you decide what’s going to go into it. Trying to say everything at once on your website only dilutes your message and increases the chance that you’ll be misunderstood or will lose a customer.

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