WEBSITE DESIGN ARTICLES

Why is Site Navigation Important to the Success of My Site?

Website navigation is a key point that is often overlooked by even large companies. Your site needs to be user friendly. Your visitor needs to easily see what categories are available at all times. If your site appears to be a game of hide-and-go-seek, the joke is on you.

Should my navigation be on every page?

Your site design should include a menu navigation bar on every page so your visitor can easily access designated pages of the site from his or her current page location. Remember your goal is to give the visitor the content they want and to get them to take an action (contact you or buy). If they can't find what they are looking for, how can they take the desired action?

How do I make my navigation easy for my visitor?

As a general rule, the smaller your site is, the easier it is to have good navigation. For example if your site only has five pages, and you have your navigation bar on the side of every page, that is good navigation.

If you have a large site, you will need to plan your navigation more carefully. Think of your navigation like the table of contents of a book. An author breaks the information into smaller sections and chapters. This is what you need to do with your website.

For example: you might have a navigation link named 'About Us'. From this page you might have sub pages named location, mission, staff, or history. Each of these pages could be a main category but also fit well as a sub-category(page). The question you need to ask is... If I were visiting my site what is most important and where would I look for it?

How should I decide if I should create a new page or put the information in an existing page?

As a general rule, you want to limit each page to just one or two concepts. So, Instead of having one long page that lists all of your products and their details, it would be better to separate these into new pages. Also it is always a good idea to avoid excessive scrolling on individual pages. On the hand, don't take this to the extreme that each page only has two sentences on it. Remember your goal.

Can website navigation impact my conversion rate?

Absolutely! Navigation can make the difference between turning a profit or losing money. If your visitor can't find the information he or she is looking for or can't find a way to contact you or buy your product, you are not going to make the sale. As all good marketers know, the easier that you make it for the visitor to buy, the more likely it is that they will become a customer.