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The Basics of Developing Website Navigation

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\"If people cannot navigate through your site, they will quickly leave,\" says a web design expert. Thus, it is critically important to ensure your navigation is simple, clear, and effective. Just as a GPS guides a car through a trip, the navigation map on your website can help them take full advantage of all your site has to offer. Here are some basic principles to keep in mind when developing your website\'s navigation.

"If people cannot navigate through your site, they will quickly leave," says a web design expert. Thus, it is critically important to ensure your navigation is simple, clear, and effective. Just as a GPS guides a car through a trip, the navigation map on your website can help them take full advantage of all your site has to offer. Here are some basic principles to keep in mind when developing your website's navigation.

Creative Good Inc. published a study stating that thirty-nine percent of shoppers don't buy online because sites are too difficult to navigate. That is a lot of lost revenue. In order to maximize on customers for your webpage, it is beneficial to focus on the structure of your site for easier navigation. Some of the elements that should be present on your site include the products or services you offer, information and possibly history of the company, a "help" or "frequently asked questions" page, and if applicable, investor or retailer information. If your website has more of a personal focus rather than business, the elements are generally the same, except you can also include a page of your favorite links if you wish.

Now that you have all the different pages that make up your website, it is time to organize them. Sometimes, it helps to think of a website like a book. There are various pages that are organized into chapters which make up the entire book. Think about the "chapters" that might work best for your website. You can have links to the various elements directly from your home page, just like you can pick up a book and flip to any chapter from the contents section. Consider how your customers will likely navigate your site. Will they always want to come back to the home page, or would they prefer going to a specific category sub-directory? Traditional design tools such as graphs, flow charts, and storyboards can be very helpful at this stage, particularly if you have a complex site.

Once you have an idea of your organization, you can begin designing. Make your links as accessible as possible. "This means avoiding special effects like Flash, Java, or JavaScript as your only navigation method." Consider that not all your visitors will have these programs and you want to reach as many visitors as you can. Garden.Com uses the term "wheelbarrow" for their shopping cart. This is very unclear to the casual user who will look for the traditional shopping cart or bag in the upper right hand corner. Make sure the icons and terms you use on your site are understandable and meaningful to people outside of your business. Finally, include a search box at the top of every page on your site. That way if readers get lost or can't find what they are looking for using your navigation, they will have a way to search for it rather than simply leaving your website.

Article Source: Website Makers

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