Web Design News: Don’t Forget to Improve Your Website’s Navigation

Often, many website redesign projects for companies tend to just deal with the physical aspects of the site. Too many online marketers urge their web designers to focus on the design, completely forgetting about navigation in the process. This is most likely because that part of the website is hidden away under all the design elements and content.

According to Kissmetric’s (@Kissmetrics) latest web design news article titled “Are You Making These Common Website Navigation Mistakes?”, navigation has a more significant effect on the success of a website than any other factor. Plenty of things can go wrong if you don’t pay attention to navigation. Here are a few tips to help you avoid that.

Don’t Overcrowd Your Navigation

You think having fifteen-plus navigation items is good? You might want to reconsider, as this defeats the purpose of being organized. If you have too many navigation links, you will confuse not only your customers but the search engines as well. With each extra link from the home page to the interior pages, your authority decreases, which would make search engines conclude that your website is not trustworthy.

Set Up a Custom Search Bar

If you have tons of products on your website, navigation will be a nightmare for your customers without a custom search engine. A custom search bar is useful for the users who already know what they’re looking for when they go to your site.

Get Your Content Layout Organized

In his “11 Common Web Design Mistakes (Blunder)” article, Hongkiat’s (@hongkiat) Brujo Owoh says that how your content is structured will affect its success. The first thing you should do is make sure that your navigation will not be confusing for the users. Put the navigation bar where visitors will expect to find it: at the top or vertically to the left side. Don’t forget about the headings, sub-headings, keywords, and other similar elements; make sure they are relevant to your business and are labeled accordingly.

Be Consistent with Your Design

A little creativity is good so long as you don’t overdo it. It’s important that your site maintains a sense of uniformity even with creative elements. If the layout changes on every page, it’s just going to confuse and annoy your users.

Website navigation is all about simplicity and ease of use. If you need some more helpful web design insights and tips, look to online resources like Marketing Digest.

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Megan Pearson

Community Manager at Marketing Digest

Megan Pearson is a hard-core online marketing consultant and evangelist. She is also passionate about design and fashion. Being part of Marketing Digest allows her to keep track of developments and innovation in the industry.