subject: Importance Of Website Architecture And Navigation [print this page] Your websites overall architecture (Design) and navigational structure determines the success of your online business. Creating websites that convert visitors to long term customers is the goal of any business website, but unfortunately too many people let their designers create awfully crappy websites design with complex designs and navigational structures.
In context to this grave issue, you must focus on the way you have structured your entire website elements. The neater the website layout, the higher the conversions will be. Pay special importance to the landing page of your website because a well designed landing page increases the possibility the possibility that a user landing there will take the action you desire and not retreat away.
Also make sure your websites navigation is understandable and usable by an average user. When a user arrives at your platform through search engine or some friend recommendations, make them feel happy. How? Simply by letting your design and architecture tell them what the website is about and what services are offered. Dont let them wander here and there and get confused by how youve placed information on the website, and how difficult it is for them to browse through. If your web design seems bore, complicated and unprofessional game over right then and there!
Aesthetic web architecture requires your attention to the technical, creative and functional aspects of designing and planning a website - and all these efforts directed towards user friendliness. How to ensure your websites navigation supplements your website architecture? Consider the following:
Here are the three purposes of Navigation, considering both users and search engines:
Ensure easy access to all important information on the website
Website navigation must work like the main organizational structure of the website
Text navigations must be accurately used to control search engine indexing
Image Links: Although not so strong for search engines in the form of alt tags, but image linking is an ideal way to catch attention of the website visitors. In a text loaded web page, images should be employed with a motive to call visitors attention towards the navigation system, or any other link you want. Similarly, website that is cramped with images with less text is also not desirable. So, try maintaining the balance within your website design and link patterns.
Text Links: Text links or anchor text serves two purposes. One, to ensure website remains search engine friendly. And second, to make it easy for website visitors to move from one page to another. However, make sure the anchor text is related to the page at which it is directed. Example,
Bad text link: Click Here
Good text link: How To Design Your Website
JavaScript Menus: JavaScript menus can work by enhancing user access to your websites content, but you have to be careful and accurate when using these. In order to increase control over the links and hide specific links from search engines, JavaScript menus are recommended.
Advice for complex websites would be to apply a top menu system, a bottom text navigation system, and text links within the web copy. This way, youll be able to maximize your website space for the primary information. And this is perhaps the best way to make your website architecture and navigation impressive and effective.
