Website Navigation 101

In a day and age when information can be easily accessed via the Internet, and websites offer more and more pages of data to sift through, there is a demand for proper navigation to quickly get the readers, the end-users, where they want to go. And while it stands true that designing the website to make it visually appealing is a priority, one thing business owners and web developers/designers should keep in mind is making it easy for their readers, their audience, to find what they’re looking for once they load the website. Otherwise, what is the point of putting up information that can’t be seen or accessed?

Website Navigation, in a Nutshell

But let’s backtrack; what is website navigation anyway? And why is it a crucial presence in a website? Website navigation is simply the system where the links/pages of content can be found. Think of it as the backbone of the website, an online version of the table of contents, or a roadmap of points of interests. Without it, readers would feel lost, not knowing where to go next or how to access the information that they’re searching for. And if they get confused or frustrated, site traffic and rankings in search engines will drop.

Various Preferences, Custom Solutions

So how can business owners better serve their readers (aside from a carefully designed and organized web navigation)? By outsourcing services, providing support for web navigational assistance. Business owners should bear in mind that different people have different ways of searching for information — they have their own habits and factors that make up their navigating processes — and might encounter difficulties when browsing the website.

Support Staff Makes It Feasible

With a dedicated support staff available, readers can be guided to solve the problem encountered; reliable techs who know all there is to know about the structure and content of the website are the persons readers can turn to for troubleshooting the features or services that the website offers. The end-goal is to help readers retrieve the information or product they are looking for, and provide a smooth browsing experience that will, in turn, boost sales.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Developing Your Business: Conducting Market Research in the Virtual World

Business Metrics: What Surveys Can Do For Your Business

Navigating Timezones: Three Strategies for Expanding Businesses