In the old joke, a man goes up to an old-timer and asks
how to get to the local library. The old man thinks for
a minute and then says "It's quite simple really, but I
wouldn't start from here!"
Sounds silly? Well why do so many people design their
web sites like that?
It is a basic human need to know where we are at any
given moment. If we were to be blindfolded and set down
in a strange city, most of us would panic. It isn't a
logical, thought-out response - simply a wired-in
emotional reaction to feeling out-of-place.
Almost every tourist center in the world provides maps
and guidebooks for their visitors. They don't do it
just to make a few dollars extra - they do it to stop
thousands of folks from asking their staff directions
the whole time.
Yet how many web sites are 'designed' without a single
thought for making it easy for visitors to find their
way around?
Frighteningly few!
Most people have a need to build a mental picture of
where they have been, and where they are now. If a
web site does not help them satisfy that need, they
will form an unconscious negative impression. Then, the
quality of the information on the site becomes
secondary to their basic human instinct. They will
quickly click away and look for an alternative, better
organized site.
Site navigation is not simply about a nav-bar on your
home page. It encompasses three tightly interlinked
factors:
Home page navigation
Site 'look and feel'
Reassurance
Taking these things one at a time, let's look at how
your site can be friendly to your visitors, and how
they will feel good about you.
Home Page Navigation
Every site makes some kind of stab at this. Whether it
is a side bar or a top bar, an image map or in-text
links, virtually all web designers make some attempt to
move visitors on into the depths of the site.
But wait - let's think about how it is often done.
Too many links. Why throw a link to everything onto the
front page? A few themed links directing visitors of
discrete sections of the site are more comforting.
Too few links. Unless there is a very good reason to
make people follow your site in a linear fashion, it is
much better to let them browse in the order they
choose.
Unclear links. However you decide to design your page,
ensure that the links are clear as day. Use of
underlined text on a page that is not a link is
confusing, as is changing the default way that links
are displayed. If you do play design games like this,
make sure you have a very good reason, and that your
visitors have no choice but to understand.
Dead links. Do I really need to mention that this is a
no-no? Apparently, because so many sites still have
links that either do nothing or point to 'under
construction' pages. If you don't have the content -
don't make the link.
Site Look and Feel
If you are walking around Paris, New York, London, or
any other major city, there is a particular look and
feel to the place. Visitors like that: it addresses
that instinctual need to know where we are.
What cities and countries do with architecture and
landmarks, web sites need to do with design.
Many people sneer at the pre-designed templates that
come with web design software like 'FrontPage' and
'HotMetal', but the idea is sound: creating a themed
'look'. In this way, visitors know they are on your
site, whichever page they are on.
Reassurance
Just as well-drafted maps and effective signposts help
tourists to confidently find their way around, so too
must we ensure that our site visitors never feel lost.
The easiest way to do this is to put the whole site's
navigation system on every page. An effective device is
to color-code menu items and page backgrounds so that
folks know intuitively which section they are in.
Provide browsers with familiar landmarks and they will
be content to keep on looking at what you have to
offer.
Redesigns are often a quick way of making your visitors
uneasy. Now, I have no problem with redesigns - most
sites get dated after a while - but not at the expense
of functionality.
In fact, it seems to be an Internet rule that the more
a site is 'redesigned' the more it becomes impossible
to navigate. I had been visiting one ISP's site for a
couple of years to pick up occasional emails. Then,
suddenly, they decided they needed a redesign. After
their (probably vastly expensive) designers had made it
modern, the link to email was hidden way down the page.
It took me 5 minutes to find it.
Guess which email account I am no longer using?
The Internet is, more than almost anything else in this
fast-moving world of ours, all about instant
gratification. Unless your visitor can get to what they
want in three clicks, the likelihood of them exiting
increases dramatically.
That is important enough to repeat: you have only three
click to keep your visitor's attention.
Even beginners to the Internet know that it only takes
one click, in their favorites list, to leave you
forever.
About the Author
Martin Avis publishes a free weekly newsletter:
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