Maintaining a website can be difficult when you think of all the aspects that need to be considered. From the content and design to speed and optimization, there’s just so much to focus on if you want the website to be successful. It can get overwhelming, and you might run out of ideas on improving your website.
If you’re facing such a situation and looking for some inspiration, you don’t need to look too far. A lot can be learned from the internet’s most popular websites, which we access almost every day, like Google and Facebook. These websites are popular for a reason, or actually for multiple reasons, and you can learn a lesson or two from them. So to shed some light on things, here are five valuable lessons you can learn from the internet’s most popular websites.
Most Popular Websites In The World
Website: Google
Lesson: Keep it simple
When we think about the most popular websites on the internet, Google is often one of the first names that come to mind. The search engine has become a worldwide internet phenomenon, to the point where the word ‘Google’ is now used as a verb – whatever you need to know, you can Google it!
One of the best things about Google is its UX. A large logo, a search box, and a few additional options laid out in a plain white background, this simple approach by Google has managed to offer a fantastic user experience even without attractive graphics. There’s a valuable lesson here that sometimes less is more, and keeping things simple provides a much better user experience than using more visual elements.
Website: YouTube
Lesson: Videos are Powerful
Online content exists in many forms – text, images, audio, and video. All are relevant in their own right, but the popularity of YouTube is proof that videos are one of the most powerful forms of content that audiences can relate to. Two factors make video content powerful:
- It’s easier to convey more info in less time through videos.
- People tend to remember what they see well than what they read or hear.
There’s a lot you can do with your content when you’re making videos. It is no wonder many people are making a successful career on YouTube and managing to achieve millions of subscribers who regularly watch them. So the lesson to be learned here is that if you have valuable content to deliver to your audience, it might be wise to consider doing so through the medium of videos.
Website: Facebook
Lesson: Icons make things better
Do we have to say anything about the popularity of Facebook? The platform has millions of active users, and even their app comes pre-installed on phones these days. Now whether you’ve noticed it or not, one thing about Facebook’s website theme that subconsciously grows on us is their icons. Almost every button, option, and function on Facebook has a relevant icon beside it.
Most users grow accustomed to these icons to the point that they don’t even need to read the text and can tell what a function is simple from the icons. It makes information processing faster, and as we already said, it has a subconscious effect on our user experience. This proves how handy icons are and how the proper use of icons drastically improve the UI and UX elements of a website, whether it be a casino or an e-commerce store.
Website: Amazon
Lesson: Filter options make things extremely convenient
Even with millions of products on their website, searching for a single product is quick and easy on Amazon, thanks to their extensive filter options. And you’ve probably seen it yourself that the filter options are extremely customized and specified for each category. General filters such as price and brand, which apply to multiple products, are also there, but every category of the product also comes with its own specific filters. For example, you can filter laptops based on their RAM, processor, etc., and you can filter watches based on types of strap, chronometer, etc.
One can imagine the effort it takes to implement such a wide variety of filter options for all sorts of products, but it’s all worth it. People love the ability to customize their search, so they can search for available products or streamline their search to minute details as per their wish. So it’s a lesson for e-commerce sites and any websites that deal with multiple products in general that they too should put in the extra effort to make it as convenient as possible for their customers to search for products with the help of detailed filter options.
Website: Wikipedia
Lesson: Content is King
You don’t go to Wikipedia to admire their site design. And there aren’t many interactive functions on their website. All they have is just straightforward information. And yet, Wikipedia is one of the most popular websites on the internet. It doesn’t exactly have the best looking site interface and instead looks something like a textbook page, yet people rely on Wikipedia extensively for all sorts of information.
The popularity of Wikipedia is proof that the saying ‘content is king’ is still valid to date. The design, interactive elements, and other aspects are all important too. Still, at the end of the day, people are mainly drawn to the actual content and what matters is whether people can find what they are looking for when they come to your website.
Conclusion
When you’re looking to improve your website, there’s no better place to learn from than the most popular websites on the internet. They are popular because they know what works with the audience and what needs to be delivered. So we hope you too will be able to implement these 5 lessons into your website and that it will help you push your site further, find a larger audience, and achieve more success.