Patience is not usually a virtue associated with web visitors. You have mere milliseconds to grab a potential client's attention and any confusion or lack of information will drive visitors to look elsewhere.
 The key to an effective website is a simple and clear navigation menu. The main navigation must be instantly intuitive so that users can find information to their pain or problem immediately. Otherwise, you may find someone "Googling" to reach a sub-section of your website because they find Google more responsive than your own website's navigation.
Yes, there's always room to be creative but most well designed websites follow a standard navigation layout because people recognize and understand it. The primary purpose of your website is to encourage visitors to take an action that could turn them into a customer. Your navigation should make it easy to find information on your product or service, special offers to encourage sales, promotions of other products or services in your marketing funnel and contact information to answer questions and to place orders.
Here are some basic rules to keep in mind when working with your web designer:
Website Best Practices
Ensure that it is very obvious that each navigational element is clearly a link: a cursor that changes to a mouse hand, colors that change on mouse hover, underlining text, changing the background image, etc.
Stick with the tried and true and resist the temptation to become creative with ambiguous link names.
The 'Three Click Rule'
The results of various studies show that most users will click a maximum of three links for information before drifting off. Keep that cardinal rule in mind; ensure that every page on your site is no more than three clicks away.
Explain Unusual Circumstances
If you do decide to use non-conventional links, be sure it is clear what the link is. For instance, if your website uses a map to show a number of different cities where the visitor has to click on the name of the city for further information, make sure the visitor knows what actions he/she must take.
Avoid Splash Pages
While some designers are fond of using flash movies or other types of splash pages on the website, it's preferable to keep the overall design simple but attractive with a clear Call To Action. If you do decide to use a flash movie or an animation, use a META REFRESH tag so the visitor can automatically return to the home page a few seconds later. Also provide a button or link that is clickable and clearly marked, so your visitor can hit the home page and skip the entry pages if he/she wishes.
Following these suggestions will lessen the risk of permanently driving away your visitors. Most visitors are accessing your website for information or to answer a need; if it is entertainment they want they'll visit an entertainment site.
Understanding the Layout of Your Website Navigation
Top Menu Navigation - is located at the top of the page, usually directly beside or below your logo. Menu items should be single links, drop down or expanding menus. Your main navigation should lead to all pages on your website, with the most important pages always visible and subcategories appearing in a dropdown menu.
Left Side Navigation - is generally represented either as a column or a text area on the left side of the webpage with each item a single link or expanding menu. This is used on the homepage for specials that you may want to offer. On the body page, it can be used to show pages that are related to the current one – further encouraging the visitor to explore your site.
Right Side Navigation - is rarely used but, if used, follows the same convention. Larger companies prefer to leave the right side for advertisements. This area can also be used for special offers on the homepage.
Bottom Menu Navigation - could either be a footer or menu bar. Footers are almost exclusively confined to text links while menu bars use either text links or graphics.
 To Sum It Up
A good navigation system creates a more effective website; it allows visitors to easily browse your website to find the information they want, which in turn increases customer base, sales and signups.
Talk to 3-Keys Communications about how visitors are seeing your site. We can help optimize website traffic and create strategies to turn more visitors into leads.
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