In particular, what makes a website look authoritative, and distinguishes it from a domain squatter's template?
- Good balance of page elements, such as copy over graphics, etc.
- Legibility of text (this is the visual spacing of which text can be read, font-size, colour, line height, line length, kerning, etc, etc).
- Readability of text (does it make sense when you read it?)
- Professionally written copy. Forgets saying "We are the leading company in ..." - yeah you and everyone else. Tell me why you're better, not that you are better, and why it's important to me, not your "thousands of other customers".
- A strong value proposition (why am I here and what do I get out of it)
- Strong images, such as good photography with people in it (pictures of people do wonders to user engagement). Also have them looking at the product or where to go next as it guides the user.
- Page load speed - I don't want to see the non-essential elements be rendered first all waiting while those adverts and analytics are loaded before I get to do anything useful.
- A business identity - professional web sites are run by professional companies who don't mind talking to you over the phone, so show the phone number.
- Clear navigation with no confusing terminology that makes me wonder if I'm in the wrong place.
- No tacky animations, just non-obtrusive complimentary motions that support my visual comprehension of the action I took, rather than it just trying to look flashy.
- If it's a service (such as MailChimp), then don't be shy of what other big brands use your product. It gives more credibility.
- Consistency. Keep navigation, fonts consistent with their purpose.
- Be honest. When it comes to pricing, don't hide it and make me call. Otherwise I think you're up to some shady practice to hound me in to spending more.
Okay, that's all I've got time for.
You can make a turd look like a professional web-site with enough polish. But even if you do that it is still a turd.
People will come to your site if it has great content even if it doesn't look "professional." Polish just makes them more likely to stay but not really more likely to return (content does that).
Polish is all about getting both the "big" things right but also about getting the little tiny details right too. If you spend hours considering if your site should have rounded corners on the CSS boxes then you're doing it right...
Only if you've previously spent hours making sure the content is the best it can be.
1. http://webdesign.about.com/od/webdesignbasics/a/aa071607.htm 2. http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/05/29/applying-divine-p...