By Kyle Courtright
In today’s day and age, most people are familiar with websites and how they work. There are some, though, that are self-proclaimed “technology-illiterate.” Creating a user friendly website will be appreciated by all, especially those who aren’t as tech savvy.
Many small business owners who own websites don’t realize just how important navigation is to their website. By not having effective navigation structure, people will get lost on your website or lose interest and leave.
A simple change in your menu could mean your visitors not getting to your desired content and ultimately clicking away to another site. So make sure the menu on your website can be easily found and accessed.
Word to the wise: Keep it minimal. Too many navigation choices can distract away from how you would like a visitor to flow through the site. Here’s some questions you can ask about your website navigation.
- How do I want people to click through my navigation?
- Can I remove an item/page?
- Is there enough contrast between the navigation and the background it’s sitting on?
Take some time organizing your nav menu and you’ll have more visitors convert into customers. There’s no use spending all this time in building the best looking website if your visitors can’t easily find the important pages.
Use Analytics
Another way you can improve your website navigation is to use website tracking software such as Google Analytics. You can see how long a visitor has spent on a particular web page, what page they clicked on next, bounce rates, page times, etc. Once you have this data, you can make tweaks that improve how visitors use your website.
Consider Your Target Audience
To ensure that your website doesn’t turn off your visitors, make sure the design of your website is appealing to your target audience. When you identify who your target audience is, you can compile what is called a “Customer Persona” where you can picture what they look like, what they sound like and what language they use so you can communicate with them at a deeper level.
A “Customer Persona” is a great way to picture your ideal customer and provide the right solutions to their needs. You can begin by compiling a list of common attributes for your target market so you’ll be able to target the right message to the right market.
Get Outside Input
If you’re not sure how your site is coming across, ask a few friends or family who hasn’t seen the site before to take a look. Watch them navigate the site. If they move with ease from page to page and see all of your important content, chances are your site is pretty user-friendly.
If they struggle to understand your site, it’s a pretty strong indicator that there’s some work to be done. Taking the time to do this will give you valuable information about your site and how your potential clients perceive it. At this point, you’ll be well on your way to a user-friendly site that draw people in.
