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Why is navigation so important on a website?

Core Features to Look For in a Site Builder

Well thought through navigation can make the difference between a visitor spending 30 seconds on your website or one hour. If your website navigation is too complex or poorly designed visitors will be put off quickly and may not decide to continue exploring your website. Therefore, by properly planning your website navigation, your visitor’s user experience will be improved significantly. This blog outlines some of the key reasons why you should keep navigation in mind when designing a website.

What is Website Navigation? 

Website navigation refers to the way a visitor will access different sections of your website. This often includes features such as links and menus embedded in your website design. 

What Different Types of Navigation are There? 

There are a few different options websites opt for in terms of navigation. One is having a header at the top of the website, this is either fixed (staying on your screen as you scroll) or stationary (moving with your screen as your scroll – thus disappearing). Below is the Manchester United website’s homepage, as you can see there is a header with various titles. This allows visitors to easily navigate to sections of the website they are interested in. 


https://www.manutd.com/

Alternatively you could opt for a drop down menu. This is often signified by three horizontal lines or simply the word menu. When visitors click on this they are given various options for different areas of the website. This can be very effective if you want a more clean and simple look to your webpage. A menu option can also be better for mobile phone viewing of your website. Clothing retailers will often use these to section their website into women and mens, as in this example of the Pull & Bear website.


https://www.pullandbear.com/gb/woman-c1030007507.html 

Some websites combine both together to create multiple navigation options. See Gourmet Burger Kitchen’s homepage below, where the top bar menu opens up into a translucent extra menu without taking you off the homepage. 


https://www.gbk.co.uk/

So Why is Navigation Important? 

Navigation that has been well thought out can be very effective in gaining more interest in your website. There are a variety of reasons for this: 

Increased Duration of Visit – navigation that is easy to understand and use, will increase the amount of time visitors spend on your website. If a visitor can access the different areas of your website they were looking for easily, there is a higher chance of them staying on your website longer.

Increased Chance of Sales –  more time spent on your website means visitors are exposed to your products/services for a longer period of time. Therefore, if your website is being used to sell products, navigation can be particularly important in increasing sales. 

Improved User Experience – an easy to use navigation system on your website makes using your website a more enjoyable experience. Therefore, visitors will be more likely to spend more time on your website and they are more likely to revisit your website. 

Good Design – navigation and website design go hand in hand. The style of navigation you choose can alter how your website is viewed by visitors. Therefore, ensuring that your choice of navigation fits in well with the rest of your website design is extremely important. 

The best websites will have thought through various factors before they decide on the type of navigation that works best for them. Some questions to ask yourself are: 

  • What kind of products/services are you selling? What is the best way to organise them?
  • Can you group your products/services/content under umbrella themes or titles?
  • How many titles do you need? 
  • If there are many titles would a drop down menu be easier?
  • Which type of navigation would fit in best with your website design?
  • Who is your target audience?
  • Does your navigation style work on a mobile phone or tablet?

If you consider these questions before creating your website you will create the best navigation for your products/services/content. When thinking about them, always try and have the fewest number of titles possible, as too many make your site look cluttered and confusing to navigate. 

Still unsure? Take a look at these examples of the best types of navigation. Many website builders will also have many different options that you can experiment with.

If you are looking for a good website builder for your company, then look no further than Go Sitebuilder! Our simple design means you can have a professional looking website up and running in minutes. With different types of navigation there are so many options for your new website, and with Go Sitebuilder you can rest assured that all our websites are fully optimised for both desktop, tablet and mobile devices, regardless of the navigation style you choose. Try our 14-day free trial today.

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What makes a website user friendly?

Business woman using laptop in office viewing a friendly Go Sitebuilder website

When was the last time you visited a website and had no idea what the company was offering? Maybe you clicked around to find some more information, but, failing to do so, clicked away in exasperation. This is exactly what you don’t want to happen with your website. Let’s look at how you can apply our website design tips to ensure your visitors have the best possible user experience when they visit your site. 

What is UX design?

UX design, or user experience design, is a type of website design that contemplates how a user feels when they visit a website for the first time. This can include ease of use, efficiency in performing tasks, and how useful the site is for them. When building your website with UX design in mind, you need to make sure your website answer three key questions, the why, the what and the how of your product:

Why should your customers want to use your product?

What can customers do with your product and what is its functionality and features?

How can they buy or access the product?

If your website can answer these questions quickly and efficiently, then your user will enjoy the experience they have on your site. This makes it more likely for them to convert into a customer, recommend your site to others and have a positive first impression of your company. 

Why is UX design important?

If you have good UX design, then your users are more likely to have a positive experience with your company and therefore your product. In fact, according to HubSpot research, 75% of respondents stated that they thought ease of finding information is the most important element of a website. So, when you’re using your website builder and trying to work out a good website design, you need to put functionality and ease of use at the top. 

But how are you supposed to know what your users want in your website? Sports network ESPN decided to find out by asking their users what features and functionality they wanted on the site to improve the UX. By taking the suggestions on board and altering their website accordingly, they managed to increase their revenue by a staggering 35%.

It’s clear that a good UX design can have a huge effect on how your visitors view your site and how likely they are to convert into customers. 

How can you improve your UX?

The first step in making sure that your website design is optimised for good UX is to always have your audience in mind. Remember they’re not necessarily interested in the product you sell, but rather the problem your product will solve for them and the benefits this will have in their day-to-day lives. Make this clear, but don’t over explain.

Simplicity

Simplicity is key. We know it’s easy to think that the more bells and whistles you put on your website, the better it will be, but actually it just makes it more complicated for the user. Here at Go Sitebuilder we know this; that’s why our website builder has just the right amount of tools for you to create a professional-looking website with good user experience. No more, no less. When you think of adding another feature to your website, stop and think about what it will actually provide for your user. 

If you sell complex products, or a variety of different services and you’re struggling to keep the website simple, think about creating an interactive guide, or a helpful infographic that will help them decide quickly and easily what they need. Canva and Venngage are both free-to-use online infographic makers with ready-made templates so you can easily input your company’s information. 

Compatibility

Especially now, compatibility with a variety of browsers and devices is crucial to avoid putting people off. Recent research from Visual.ly shows that 85% of adults think that a mobile website should be as good or better than their desktop website, showing how much people value looking for information on the go. 

You can check what your site looks like on mobiles with Google mobile site tester, but it’s not that fast. If you choose Go Sitebuilder as your website builder, you can instantly see what your site looks like on mobile or tablet at the click of a button – all our website templates are compatible with all devices. 

Call to Action

Did you know that 70% of small businesses don’t have a Call to Action (CTA) on their homepage? This is the section that tells the user what to do, either to buy your product, to register for a free trial, or to contact you for more information. Without this, a visitor can feel directionless when they arrive at your site – you’re not answering the why, what or how questions they have. A CTA is easy to add; just make it short and snappy and put it on your homepage – make sure it stands out!

If you’re tempted to design your own website now but are still daunted by the prospect, then try Go Sitebuilder! We make your life easy by giving you ready to go templates, colour schemes, and font choices, and with our fully mobile-compatible website builder, you can design your website on the go! Try our free 14-day trial today to see what we have to offer.