Key Takeaway:
Equip yourself with some website best practices to start a new website on the right footing or to make your current one better.
Whether you’re launching a new website or refreshing an old one, your site should do more than just look good. It should function as a clear, purposeful extension of your business, built to meet your goals, reflect your brand, and serve your audience.
If you’re curious about the current best practices for websites, you’re in the right place. Here’s what you should know about building (or rebuilding) a strong, functional, and user-friendly website in 2025.
“Your audience will shape your website’s design, layout, and messaging. Are you targeting seekers (people who already know what they want and are actively looking)? Or are you appealing to discoverers (those who won’t realize they need your product until they see it)?”
– Jennifer Shaheen, President and Founder, Technology Therapy®️ Group
Start with Purpose: Who Is Your Website For?
You might think the goal of your website is to drive traffic or get business. But before you dive into clicks and conversions, pause and consider this: Who are you building it for?
Whether you’re selling a service or product, knowing your audience will shape your design, layout, and messaging. Are you targeting seekers (people who already know what they want and are actively looking)? Or are you appealing to discoverers (those who won’t realize they need your product until they see it)?
Defining your user journey from the start ensures that your navigation, visuals, and calls-to-action align with how your customer thinks, browses, and buys.
Navigation is Next
Navigation is the mapping or directions you want to guide your customers through when they come to your website. Your navigation should reflect your content without overwhelming the visitor. If you offer only a handful of products or services, list them directly in the main navigation. If you offer many, group them into categories (like “Shop by Product Type” or “Services by Industry”).
We recommend 4–6 items in your main navigation. Anything beyond that can go in a secondary navigation or your footer. Here’s an idea for how to structure your site’s navigation layers:
- Main Navigation: Products or Services, Shop Now, Book a Service, etc.
- Secondary Navigation: About Us, FAQs, Contact Us
- Footer Navigation: Business hours, phone number, email signup, location, social links
Keep Your Home Page Fresh and Focused
The home page is the front door of your website. So, it should be immediately clear what you do as soon as someone gets there. If you’re selling products, don’t bury them – put them near the top of the page. Use visuals and clear language to lead users where you want them to go.
A stagnant home page can make your business look out of touch. Keep it alive with seasonal updates, new photos, and timely messaging.
Also keep in mind that not everyone that visits your site will come in through that front door. Maybe they’ll get there through an ad or social post. But the front door sets the stage for the other areas of your business’s “house” people will experience when they move to other parts of your website.
“The ‘contact us’ parts of your website are some of the most important components. You want customers to feel that you’re accessible. This can take the form of contact forms, a store phone number, or a chatbot.”
– Jennifer Shaheen, Founder & President, Technology Therapy®️ Group
Make It Easy for People to Take Action
Each page on your website should include a call-to-action (CTA). Whether that’s “Book Now,” “Shop Collection,” or “Request a Quote,” it should be visually obvious and use active language. CTAs should be styled as clickable buttons, banners, or hyperlinks. Make it easy and intuitive.
And don’t forget contact information. The “contact us” parts of your website are some of the most important components. You want customers to feel that you’re accessible. This can take the form of contact forms, a store phone number, or a chatbot.
If you’re a solo entrepreneur, consider a Google Voice number or similar service you can manage through an app. That way, you don’t have to use your personal number. Here at Technology Therapy®️ Group, we use a company called DialPad.
Give Your Website Room to Breathe
Big blocks of text? Walls of product listings? That’s a fast way to lose your audience. That’s where something called “breath” comes in.
Breath, or white space, is important for web pages. It allows the user to really understand as they read through the information without feeling cluttered or confused.
Structure your content to be skim-friendly: use short paragraphs, bullet points, bold subheadings, and plenty of visuals. Pull quotes and testimonials can also break things up and build trust.
“Breath, or white space, is important for web pages. It allows the user to really understand as they read through the information without feeling cluttered or confused.”
– Jennifer Shaheen, Founder & President, Technology Therapy®️ Group
Don’t Skip Trust Signals
If someone is deciding whether to buy from or book with you, your site should help them feel confident.
Add trust indicators such as:
- Reviews or testimonials
- Return policies
- Shipping policies
- Certifications, professional affiliations, memberships, or partnerships
These “green flags” can make a big difference in a visitor’s decision-making process. They’ll be more likely to click on your website’s CTAs to find out more about a product or service, or to purchase one.
Make Sure You’re Searchable
Check that your site can be found online through both search engines and generative engines. Make sure your SEO and GEO (generative engine optimization) are on-point. SEO titles should be fewer than 60 characters. At the time of writing, Google seems to prefer titles that fall between 42–46 characters.
Meta descriptions should be between 120–150 characters long. Per Search Engine Land, 150–160 characters is the ideal max length, to avoid Google potentially truncating it to fit the featured snippet.
To improve local visibility, make sure your copy (and your SEO/meta tags) includes your city, state, or region. This is what helps searchers in your area find you.
“Your website is an evolving marketing tool. You should be adding to it, adjusting it, and growing it. Think of it like a flower that you plant, and you have to keep feeding and watering it to see it grow and reach its full potential.”
– Jennifer Shaheen, Founder & President, Technology Therapy®️ Group
Use Analytics to Keep Improving
As we like to say here at TTG, your website is never done. It’s an evolving marketing tool. You should be adding to it, adjusting it, and growing it. Think of it like a flower that you plant, and you have to keep feeding and watering it to see it grow and reach its full potential.
Install tracking tools like Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity so you can see what’s working (and what’s not). Your metrics will inform your website’s UX and content. (Bonus Tip: Clarity’s rage clicks feature shows where users are getting frustrated, so you can fix it fast.)
Cultivating a Website That’s Built for Growth
Whether you’re launching something new or refining what you’ve already built, these best practices can help you create a website that feels purposeful, trustworthy, and aligned with your goals. Remember: keep tending to it. Update your content, test new ideas, and track how your visitors engage. The more care you give your site, the more return you’ll see from it.
Simpler Steps to a Better Website
Feeling overwhelmed? Our team offers expert advice to help you build or improve your website. Learn more about our Interactive Website Audit Program!
