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Insight

Good websites. What makes a good website, and why brand matters

What UK guides and bulletins say a website needs, and why a brand is worth looking after.

Part one

What makes a good website

  1. Start with what people need

    Know who it is for and what they are trying to do before you design anything.

    The UK government's design principles open with this: if you do not know what people need, you will build the wrong thing. Do the research, look at the data, talk to users.

    Sources

  2. Say it plainly

    Write the way people speak. Short words, short sentences.

    The ONS service manual says research shows around 80% of people prefer plain language, expert readers included, and that the more complex the subject, the stronger the preference.

    Sources

  3. Open to everyone

    If someone cannot use it, it is not finished.

    GOV.UK puts it simply: accessible design is good design. For UK organisations, guides treat WCAG 2.2 level AA as the practical benchmark for the Equality Act duty to make reasonable adjustments.

    Sources

  4. Fast and steady

    Load quickly, and stay still while loading.

    Google's Core Web Vitals call a page good when its main content appears within 2.5 seconds, it responds to a tap within 200 milliseconds, and it does not jump about as it loads (a layout shift of 0.1 or less), measured across at least three in four visits.

    Source

  5. Built for the phone

    Design for a thumb first.

    Ofcom's Online Nation report puts UK adults at around four and a half hours online a day, with about three quarters of that time spent on a smartphone.

    Sources

  6. Easy to find

    Clear titles, clear descriptions, clear navigation, clear content.

    Google's SEO Starter Guide covers the basics: page titles and descriptions, URL structure, site navigation and content people find useful. Following Google Search Essentials makes a site more likely to appear in results.

    Source

  7. Says who you are

    Put your legal details where people can find them.

    A limited company must show its name, number, registered office and where it is registered on its website. Under the E-Commerce Regulations, online services must also give a name, a geographic address and an email address for direct contact.

    Sources

  8. Honest about data

    Tell people what you collect, and ask before you track.

    The ICO says the cookie and marketing rules apply to every organisation with a UK website, with no exemption for smaller firms. Analytics and advertising cookies need opt in consent.

    Source

Part two

Why brand matters

01

Brand and sales work as a pair

Spend on being remembered as well as on being clicked.

Les Binet and Peter Field analysed 996 case studies from the IPA Effectiveness Awards. Their finding, widely summarised, is that the best long term results came from roughly 60% brand building and 40% sales activation. Newer work says to flex the split with context. It describes larger consumer brands, so treat it as a direction, not a formula.

02

Own your name

Protect what you cannot afford to lose.

A registered UK trade mark gives you an exclusive right to use the mark for the goods and services you register, and is much easier to enforce than relying on unregistered rights. Registration is handled by the UK Intellectual Property Office.

03

Consistent, not uniform

Same name, same look, same voice, wherever you appear.

One of the UK government's design principles is to use the same language and the same design patterns wherever possible, while allowing for what each place needs.

04

Reputation is earned

Let real customers speak. Never invent them.

Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, fake reviews and hidden incentivised reviews are banned, and businesses that publish reviews must take reasonable steps to keep them genuine. The CMA published its guidance in April 2025.

05

Look like the business you are

A tidy, specific site tells people you are careful before they meet you.

Real photographs, real numbers and plain words do more than adjectives. This is the part of brand that is judgement rather than evidence.

Our view

Part three

Reading list

Compiled from public UK guidance in October 2026, using the summaries of each source that were available at the time. Open the linked pages for their exact and latest wording.

Make yours good.

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