The average website user will supposedly stay on a site for a mere two seconds before they decide to leave, which can happen for various reasons. One reason why website visitors choose to leave is due to a slow-loading page. If a page doesn’t load in the time expected, your visitors can quickly go away, never to return. But there’s another factor that can influence a visitor’s decision to leave your site: navigability. Having a website that looks like a maze with confusing headers and icons and many images can be detrimental to visitor conversion. Fortunately, if you want your website to be more easily navigable, there are more than a few things you can do. It’s entirely possible to have a better website in terms of navigability, and with a few good changes, you can accomplish this. Here’s what you should do if you want your website to be more easily navigable.
- Create a hierarchy for your pages
As soon as visitors land on a page, their eye will likely land on a particular area, and this will give them the very first impression of your business or brand. It’s not voluntary – they will be attracted to one specific element naturally. But how does this affect the usability of your site? It’s simple – you have to make it convenient and easy for site visitors to identify what they see.
First off, try not to have too many images. Having myriad images on a homepage can distract visitors and make your page look confusing and overwhelming. Instead, come up with a hierarchy, and this hierarchy should show your users the essential parts or portions of your site. Place the vital elements in such a way that they become focal points. There are other factors besides this when it comes to hierarchy. Think carefully about sizes (the larger the size, the better), colours (bright and bold colours will get more attention), and contrast (different colours can emphasise various elements or draw attention away from other details). Negative space is another factor that can impact hierarchy on your site pages, and it is equally essential to have negative space as well.
- Make your navigation more straightforward
Your site’s usability will be affected by how easy it is to navigate through it, and this is something that an expert in website design such as Expre knows very well. Therefore, focus on having simpler navigational features, which will result in a cleaner design and direct the visitors to specific landing pages so they can become conversions.
Determine how users take their journey through your site. How long does it take them to get from your site’s homepage to your checkout page? Assess the number of clicks they have to make. Many online shoppers can abandon a shopping cart not because of the price of a product – but because of navigation! But even if you aren’t focused on selling, simpler navigation should still be your priority. For instance, if you have a blog, how long does it take visitors to get to your blog? Is it easy for users to search for a post? These are all related to your site’s navigation. With more straightforward navigation, visitors are more likely to stay – and convert.
