Have you ever visited a website
and gotten lost among the pages? You're merrily clicking this
link and that link and suddenly, you realize you don't know
where you are and you're not sure how to get back to where
you want to be.
A critical element of good website
design is helping visitors to navigate your site. Because
we're so familiar with the contents of our own sites, we sometimes
forget that visitors need help in finding their way around.
Most webmasters use familiar
words that people recognize, like "home" or "what's new" or
"about us."
But not always.
Recently I saw a site that had
a link that said, "Previous." Previous to what? And another
said, "Next." Next ... ?
If you place links at more than
one location on your page, (e.g., top and bottom), be certain
that they match. One site designer put a link at the top that
said "home," but at the bottom there was a link that said
"main." Were they the same? As it turned out, they were. But
how would a visitor know for sure?
On some sites I've visited,
the initial link on the first page is labeled "Order." Now,
I agree it's important to make the order link predominant,
but this seemed to be taking it to the extreme. Rarely is
a person "ready to buy" as soon as they enter your
site. Generally, you want to do at least a minimal "sales
pitch." Use your links to guide the visitor to your Most
Wanted Response.
One final word on links. Try
not to make your visitors click through too many levels to
get to the information they're seeking. I've been to sites
where I had to go through as many as six levels to finally
reach my destination!
Nan Yielding has nearly 10 years experience as an online business owner. She is the owner of Writing-Etc.com and offers internet marketing services and assistance to help website owners attract more customers and increase sales.
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