The 7 C's of website design are a framework many web design agencies use to build sites that actually work, both for users and for the business behind them. Each C covers a different layer of how a site functions, and when they all come together, the result is something coherent rather than a collection of random decisions.

1. Context: The overall look and feel. Layout, colors, typography, the first thing someone sees when they land on your page. It either communicates who you are or it doesn't.

2. Content: Everything on the page, text, images, video, downloads. Good content does two jobs at once: it helps people find you through search, and it gives them a reason to stay once they arrive.

3. Community: How the site lets people interact, with each other or with the brand. Comments, forums, social feeds, user reviews. These features turn a website from a brochure into something people actually return to.

4. Customization: The ability to show different things to different people. Location-based content, product recommendations based on browsing history, saved preferences. Done well, this makes a site feel like it knows you. Done poorly, it feels intrusive.

5. Communication: Contact forms, live chat, email signup, chatbots. Basically, every way a visitor can reach out or hear back. A site that only broadcasts and never listens tends to frustrate people quickly.

6. Connection: How the site links outward, to social platforms, partner sites, third-party tools. This matters for credibility and reach, but it also affects trust. Where a site connects says something about what it stands for.

7. Commerce: Transactions, lead generation, calls to action. Even sites that don't sell products have a commerce dimension. Every contact form submission, newsletter signup, or quote request is a conversion, and the design either supports that or gets in the way of it.