Website Navigation Tips for Better User Experience
When designing a website, it’s easy to get caught up in the aesthetics of the visual design and lose sight of the less glamorous elements that bring the website usability required to have a website that works for you, instead of against you. Website navigation may top the list of the least sexy elements you really need to address to build the website–and business–you want.
An effective website navigation combines a little user experience design (UX), a little visual design, and a dash of psychology.
Knowing the most important goal for your website, and the most important action you want your site visitors to take, is crucial in setting up your website's navigation.
In the heat of creating that perfect visually appealing design, we often forget that our website is an interactive experience with the humans who land on it. If your website is the virtual space for your business, you want to warmly welcome visitors, highlight the most important elements of your business, and show them around other areas that may be of interest to them. To do this effectively, it’s important to keep the navigation simple, uncluttered, and clear, so that visitors stay on your website longer and don’t leave in frustration because they couldn’t find what they needed.
Basically, anything that facilitates movement around your website or even off it, is part of your website navigation.
Your website navigation essentially refers to anything on your website that people click on. This includes the main navigation at the top of your website, clickable logos, secondary navigation such as that found on a footer or in drop-down items on the main menu, call to action (CTA) buttons, internal and external links, and search bars.
Simplicity and clarity in your navigation is key to an optimal user experience.
Your website navigation is not the place to get cute and creative. People have clear expectations about what cues to look for when navigating a website. You may think menu items like “services,” “about,” and “contact” are boring, but your site visitors aren’t there to guess what your menu items mean or wonder what that weird call to action is all about. For this, the KISS philosophy definitely applies: Keep It Simple Sweetie.
Do your very best to keep your main navigation at 5 items or less. To do this effectively with a lot of content, you may need to use secondary navigation, such as drop down menus and listing items on your footer only. I utilized drop-downs in the main menu as well as the footer as a secondary navigation for a dance studio website I made recently. I reduced the main navigation from 10 items to 5. The simplicity also brings clarity to the site visitors about what’s important and influences where they go on the website. Too many options can be confusing and cause people to bounce off your site.
There is actually a study that came out in 2000 called the “jam study” that proved when people are presented with too many options, they get decision paralysis. But those presented with a limited number of options are more likely to take action, like making a purchase. With that in mind, be sure to keep that main menu clean and simple.
Use more calls to action (CTAs) than you think you need and ensure they are obvious and readable.
Follow these guidelines when creating buttons on your website:
Clear and concise text
Use a verb-make it actionable
Highlight the benefits of clicking on the button
Contrast and visibility-make sure it’s easy to see and read
Be consistent-all buttons should be the same size and color for brand consistency
Minimize distractions around the button, keep the area clean
Use no more than 3-5 words on a button-the fewer the better
Change up the text on the CTA for the same action-like “explore services” and “see packages”
Maintain a consistent brand voice across all buttons
I see a lot of websites with CTAs as linked text in a paragraph-don’t do that UNLESS the text is a clear call to action. Using the word “here” as a link, for example, is unclear to the sight impaired. Make your calls to action as obvious as possible. Buttons are something people expect to see. Placing one in the header, as well as various places down the page, give site visitors many opportunities to move through your website, contact you, or make a purchase.
Visual hierarchy helps users quickly identify the most important navigation options by making them stand out visually. By employing techniques such as larger font sizes, bolder typography, or contrasting colors, designers can draw attention to primary navigation items such as main menu links or prominent call-to-action buttons.
By creating a navigation hierarchy, you help guide visitors to the most important information on your website. This reduces confusion and allows people to move through your website with confidence, which is a good feeling to instill in people visiting your website. Determining what you want people to do on your website and how you want them to feel when they’re there are two of the most important questions to ask yourself when designing your navigation system.
Speaking of important information in important places, you might want to check out this other blog post I wrote about why your homepage should be the rockstar of your website and how to make it stand out using keywords.
This is an example of a navigation link on an image, an alternative to a button or menu. Using images is a great way to enhance text-based navigation.
Descriptive link text refers to the practice of using clear, informative, and meaningful text for hyperlinks within website navigation. Instead of using generic or ambiguous phrases like "click here" or "read more," descriptive link text provides users with specific information about the destination or content they will access by clicking the link.
Examples of descriptive link text might include:
"Learn more about our services"
"View our pricing plans"
"Read customer testimonials"
"Contact us for support"
Providing descriptive link text does three things. Firstly, it provides clarity, so people know exactly what’s on the other side of that button. Secondly, it meets accessibility requirements. You provide a better experience for the sight impaired when they don’t have to rely on context only to understand where the link will take them. And lastly, descriptive link texts improve your SEO, because search engines can better understand what you’re offering on your website.
Continuously test and iterate on navigation design based on user feedback, analytics data, and usability testing. Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of navigation and make adjustments as needed to improve the user experience.
I often remind my clients that a website is a living entity–it’s never finished, and this particularly applies to your website navigation. Study your website analytics to see if people are moving through your website in a way that helps you meet your business goals. The navigation elements mentioned in this blog post can be tweaked to help people move through your website differently, or to accommodate a new business goal or service.
Is there one page on your website where people frequently exit? Or bounce away? If so, this is a sign that it’s time to think about adding compelling content or adjusting the navigation options on that page to entice them to stay on your website.
If you utilize the tips and strategies spelled out above, you will improve your website user experience and SEO.
Hi there, my name is Holli. I would love to talk to you about creating a customized and lead-generating website, or refreshing the one you have. Prices start at $300. Let’s create a website you’re in love with. Check out my packages and prices to find the best fit for you or schedule a call so we can discuss options.
