Navigation
How is your site set up? Is everything centered right down the middle? Does your page run about six feet in height? You might not realize it but whatever you have displayed after the first couple of scrolls will probably never be seen. Do you have a smattering of images here, there and everywhere? It is very hard to know where and what to look for on a site like this. Most visitors will just give up and leave.
This is what you have to keep in mind: You know your website left, right and upside down. So unless you step outside your own perspective, you may assume that everyone else can navigate your site as well as you can. It would be a very good idea to invite someone who has never used your site before to visit and ask them to find the answers to a few common first time visitor questions.
For example:
- What kind of shipping options do you offer?
- What is your return policy?
- Do you offer telephone support?
- How long have you been in business?
- Can you help me with __________? (Fill in the blank with something appropriate for your business.)
Choosing a Navigational Structure
There are lots of options for navigation on a website. Most commonly you see a navigation list on the left hand side of the website, though you will also see some sites with a horizontal navigation bar across the top of their site. The choice is yours but do choose just one – websites with navigation in more than one spot can be confusing for users.
To decide how to organize your website content, take some time and explore a few competitor’s websites and take note of what you like and do not like about how they have things put together.
If your site is going to grow over time you’ll want to make use of sub-directories (folders) in order to sort the content into easily accessed areas of the site. For example you might have a sub-directory for all of your articles, another for archived newsletters and another for product info. (This is not so much for your visitors as it is useful for you or whoever will be managing the website long term.)
