There are many essential ingredients required for building the best possible website. Great page compositions, a compelling color palette and the latest in stylish fonts are an important part of the equation. The following assets are also critical to making the difference between a good website and a great one: 

1. A high quality, vector logo. A vector logo allows for clean edges when used with transparency and for larger size formatting on higher resolution retina screens. An outdated logo plunked into a contemporary website never works, so I would highly recommend an update, if needed before you proceed with your new website.
2. Professional, high resolution product and/or services photography. 2000 pixels in width is the new standard for hero images, and larger format, 300 dpi sizes are also needed for any print or trade show work. Stock photography can supplement these images, but it does take time to source images that are relevant and visually pleasing, without looking like stock photography. Also consider professional photography of the staff (if desired) and your facilities. 
3. A clear and concise brand standards guide, to make sure that your website will look like a cohesive part of your brand vision. 

Great design also includes the framework of a polished site map, careful layout of the content using wireframing, and making sure that the overall user experience will be second nature to all users. The finishing touches are shaped during the development phase, with interactive features such as hover and click states, galleries and the generation of tables.