A successful website combines an appealing design with an influential navigation for its visitors. The majority of websites serve a primary purpose, to capture users and their data. To achieve this, a website has to structure to suit a user’s needs. This can be done via a user journey.
The user’s journey begins on the home page after arriving via the search engine. A common user will have an idea of what they want or need, therefore won’t be looking to spend too much time flowing through your website.
People don’t visit every page and the majority also skim text to obtain the key information they require.
The navigation needs to be plain and simple. Use simple words that explain precisely what lies behind each link. Users will lose patience with a website that sends them to pages that consist of nothing related to what was being advertised.
Make it easy for users to see what their next step should be. Include clear calls to action on every ‘business’ page that jump out at the user. You can omit them on secondary pages that just provide information.
Try to ensure your HTML page titles are valid and relevant. This is not only useful for SEO, but for users who bookmark your website. Choose a favicon that stands out next to those of competitor sites that users are likely to visit and bookmark alongside yours.
Our last tip would be to create regularly updated features such as a blog, ensuring an RSS feed is available for subscribers. Try not to bombard users with sales messages, content such as this provides greater value in the long term.
Hopefully these initial factors can help you identify essential elements of your website navigation. Want to talk more? Keep in touch via our Twitter account @themediacube.
