When people visit any site on the web, they expect things to work a certain way because that’s the standard everywhere so they are used to it, you going against this might not augur well for your user experience and might also decrease your rank on SERP.
in this post you will learn;
- How to set a good Navigation experience
- The best ways to improve usability,
- How your writing can make your site more effective.
First, let’s look at navigation:
Navigation
Navigation is how visitors find what they’re looking for and accomplish what they want on your site. It is simply the stuff that guides visitors around your site.
Good navigation means arranging your site in a way that makes sense for your visitors.
3 things you must do to set a good Navigation experience
- Group your pages into different categories: In a way that makes it easy for your visitors to look for what they are looking for.
If you have a physical shop, like a bakery, think of how your goods are grouped there. Big items like cakes and pies might be in one area, while individual treats like croissants and cupcakes are in another.
Another example is the Techpadi site, all our articles are grouped into different categories (Random, news, event, How-tos, facts, etc.), you will clearly see the category menu as soon as you visit the site.
Another example is the Ecommerce online stores like Amazon, jumia, and Konga, their products are grouped into different categories like electronics, Clothing, computer, shoes, home appliances, etc. They also have a search box, just to make it easy for visitors to navigate their way through their site.
On your site, you can organize things the same way, and have the main menu navigation tell visitors what they’ll find in each section, like signs in your shop. - Nest a search box: Grouping your site may still not make perfect sense to everyone. That’s why including a search box might be a good idea, especially if your site has lots of pages or products. Put the search box in the same place on every page of your site, so it’s easy to find, and visitors who are in a rush will always be able to find it, and whatever they’re looking for. Techpadi also has a search box so if you want to search about a topic you have in mind.
- Make your Logo navigate to your homepage: Say you’re browsing a site and you want to get back to the home page—what do you do? Click on the logo.
This is something visitors will expect, and it’s common to nearly every website, so be sure your logo is clearly displayed on every page, and that a click on it takes them “home.”
You also should employ the exact same model on your site, visitors shouldn’t find it difficult to navigate through your site.
Usability
Now let’s talk about Usability, this includes your Writing, style, and the way your site looks and feels. Everyone has their own tastes, but there are some general guidelines to follow to get the best of your visitors.
- Consider your page layout. It should be consistent across your site, with similar fonts, images, and other design elements.
- Color: When it comes to color, you may be inclined to go bold to grab attention. But online, most people are used to reading dark text on a light background. You’ve worked hard to create your content—make sure your visitors’ eyes don’t cross when they try to read it.
- You also need to be conscious of where your content ends up on the page. Don’t make people scroll down too far to see the important stuff. Use headers and bulleted lists to help them quickly scan your pages and decide if it’s worth their time to stay.
- Write for your audience. The first rule is to know who they are. Are they a highly technical bunch? If yes Then jargon is OK. Otherwise, write for everyman. You should endeavor to write the meaning of every acronym you introduced in its first use.
- For Business, try to Encourage visitors to take an action while visiting your site. This is called a “call to action,” and it can help them understand what to do next.
Want them to pick up the telephone? Tell them to “Call now.” Hoping they’ll pay you a visit? Point them to “Get directions to our store.” Or nudge them to make a purchase with a “Buy now!”
Conclusion
When creating a website, try your best to make it easy to use. Give visitors a clear roadmap to your site’s pages, keep design consistent throughout, write content that speaks their language, and give them the experience they’re looking for.
Survey questions. (Answer in the comment section)
- Is Techpadi easily navigable or difficult?
- Are the contents useful?
- What do you love about Techpadi?
- What do you dislike about techpadi and how can we improve them?
- What else can we add to make the Techpadi site more user-friendly?
Please feel free to let us know in the comment section.
