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Crucial Tips for Seamless Modern Web Navigation

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If you have noticed a high bounce rate and incomplete transactions on your website, it is possible that your site is not easily navigable. Web navigation plays a crucial role in boosting your ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs). If users cannot easily move from one area to the other, search engine crawlers will also have the same problem. However beautiful the website is, poor navigation will cost you heavily.

Why Invest in Effective Web Navigation?

Good web navigation takes users to important content on your pages and this increases click-through rates and conversion. You might have the best content in your niche but if it is hard to get to, you can bet conversion rates will be low. Navigation is a major aspect of user experience (UX) and it is thus imperative to ensure effective site navigation. In summary, effective navigation achieves the following:

  • Increased sales
  • Decreased bounce rates and increased visit duration
  • Faster engagement
  • Serial position effect by placing links at the beginning and end of the page

Implementing Modern Web Navigation

Web design is not all about the visual appeal. If you notice decreased click-through rates, it is highly likely that your site navigation is wanting. You must have a sitemap before the actual visual design starts. To get it right, make sure you research on the user experience (UX) which helps you understand how best to impress your target audience. Once you have the goals, content and target audience in mind, navigation design becomes easier.
Here are some tips to help in navigation design:

  • Limit top-level navigation pages: Don’t clutter your site because this confuses the reader. 4 to 7 items are ideal and always prioritize on important pages.
  • Keep it simple: While you are targeting deep linking to other pages, the main navigation headers should not feature a link to every page. Submenus can be used to link to inner pages.
  • Don’t use obtrusive headers: Remember that the content below the header is also important and while you are also targeting inner pages, it is important to limit the height of your headers.
  • Consolidate items: Things such as log in and search input can be hidden and shown on hover as the user scrolls down.
  • Fixed headers: These allow users to quickly navigate from one page to the other. They also offer a great place to fix a call-to-action.
  • Highlight dropdowns: Visual cues are a great addition to alert a reader about more content related to what they are seeing.
  • Keep it simple with dropdowns: For a small site, stick to a simple dropdown as opposed to mega menus.
  • Mobile menus: If you don’t have a responsive website yet, make sure you notify users about the mobile menu.

Go on and tune your site, with the help of our digital marketing agency, to facilitate a better user experience. If you have a question about how to create a good web navigation, feel free to contact us!

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