Great Web Design Navigation Tips
Web navigation is the backbone of your website – the easier it is to navigate your website, the easier your website is to use and the more likely it is that readers will stick around or even return to your site. It’s no wonder that navigation is considered so important by any good web design company. Nothing else determines customer satisfaction with your web site quite so much. In order to make sure that navigation on your site is seamless, you need to:
1) Make your web navigation predictable. Your navigation menu or bar should look the same and be located in the same spot on each web page of your site. The order of links should be the same, too – If you have “About us,” “Why Us,” “Contact Us,” and “Order from Us” on your home page, do not have “Why Us,” “Contact Us,” “About us,” and “Order from Us” on another page.
2) Base your web navigation on FAQs. When your readers come to your website, what are they asking themselves? Are they wondering how to contact you? Are they wondering where to order your products? Write down the questions customers ask most often about your business and covert these into links to use on your navigation menu or navigation bar. If you are not sure what customers are asking about your company, do some market research before hiring a web design company.
3) Use the right keywords. The right keywords can help drive search engine traffic to your website. You must do keyword research and consult with a reputable web design company to learn how to use keywords to get the best results possible for your site.
4) Test and re-test. The secret to great web design is feedback. Your readers and website viewers are the only ones who can tell you whether your website is working. Conduct polls and other market research. Ask what customers love and hate about your site and work to provide more of what your visitors want. Also, make sure that you test your web site on different computers. Does your site load correctly on mobile devices, larger monitors, smaller monitors, Linux computers, Macs, PCs, and Internet Café computers (which tend to be older and which may have slower internet connections)? If your website looks funny or fails to load in these conditions, simplify it. Many of your customers may be using different Internet browsers, operating systems, and computers to access your website. You want all of these viewers to be able to see your content properly.
5) Use a site map and search feature – but use it wisely. A site map should not replace a shoddy navigation menu, but a site map in the right place can help website visitors gain more control over your website. Position a link to your website site map at the bottom of each page and make sure that your site map includes all your website’s pages, neatly organized. Check the links on this page often.