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Nav 101
November 30, 1998
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No matter how good a site looks, or how much useful
information it offers,
if it doesn't have a sensible navigation scheme,
it will confuse visitors
and chase them away. A simple, understandable
navigation scheme can
increase your number of page impressions, boost
return visits, and improve
your conversion rate. It's a critical aspect of
site design that has a
direct effect on the bottom line.
Good navigation varies somewhat for
different types of sites, but there are
certain basic principles that apply to most business sites:
1 -Tell people exactly what is available on your site.
2 - Help them get to the parts they want quickly.
3 - Make it easy to request additional information.
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Basic Principles of Web Site Navigation
Navigation
is one of the most critical aspects of
Web site design
- arguably the most important. No matter how
good a site looks, and no matter how much useful information
it offers, if it doesn't have a sensible navigation scheme,
it will confuse visitors and chase them away. A simple, logical,
understandable navigation scheme can increase your number of page
impressions, boost return visits, and improve your "conversion
rate" (the number of visitors who are "converted" into customers).
It's a critical aspect of site design that has a direct effect on
the bottom line.
Good navigation is mostly a matter of common sense (a commodity
in short supply in cyberspace), and although it varies somewhat
for different types of sites, there are certain basic principles
that apply to almost all sites, or at least almost all business
sites. Well-designed Web sites tend to have similar navigational
layouts, for the same reasons that most books have a table of
contents and an index. However, there are differing opinions
about some navigational issues, and of course every site is
different, so if something off the beaten path works for you,
go for it. Just be sure that your navigation scheme is well
thought-out and logical.
This article pretty much assumes that the purpose of your
site is to inform people about a product or service, to
actually sell the product or service online, or both. If
your site is of a more artistic nature, then the normal
layout rules may not apply. For example, an online exhibition
of photos may require the visitor to view the photos in
sequential order, or a site may wish to cultivate an aura
of mystery, and make the visitors work a little to figure
out where to go. For most sites, however, the basic rules are clear:
- Tell people exactly what is available on your site.
- Help them get to the parts they want quickly.
- Make it easy to request additional information.
Contents:
Nav 101
The Front Porch
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