If you're just now venturing into the world of online business, you may not yet understand the value of effective website navigation. Easy website navigation is a crucial component to your success online, so here are 4 techniques you can adopt to raise your performance and design.
1. Have all your main sections and subsections visible on all pages. One way you can do this is by including horizontal navigation bars across the top of a page and vertical navigation bars along one of the sides. The key is that this design has to be consistent, and it has to be on every single page of your site. In this way, people don't have to hit the back button or click on "Home" every time they want to visit another page - which is a major hassle for online browsers!
2. The website navigation elements for your online business have to be ready to read. You can use basic links, or even images with words - but they have to make sense, be appropriate and be easy to read. A bright yellow link on a white page not only won't look attractive, but it will be hard to spot. Poorly designed images are going to just take up space and add clutter and load time. When in doubt, use simple text formatting and pick an eye-friendly color with contrast that sticks out from the background and the rest of the page text.
3. Include a sitemap for good website navigation. A sitemap is a listing of every single page on your site, and is broken down into appropriate sections and subsections. This is a useful tool for a visitor who is looking for one specific page and doesn't want to search around, or tried to search and couldn't find what they were looking for. As an added bonus, a sitemap will help your search engine optimization because it will be like a readable database for a search engine to find all of your pages instantly.
4. Create a search box to enhance navigation. This will allow people to type in exactly what they want and turn up the appropriate results on your page. This is especially important when you have a large website with many different pages. This not only will save your visitors time, but it will also lend a sense of credibility and authority to your site. Place the search box somewhere above the fold, which means the top part of a layout that you can see without having to scroll down in the browser.
Of course, these are just a few basic tips to get you started. As you develop your website, you'll learn what works and doesn't work for your specific business. Don't be afraid to look at other websites you enjoy for examples. Also don't be afraid to have someone you know "test drive" your site to see if they like the way it is set up. Simple methods like these will provide even further improvements for your online business website navigation.
For more information regarding Website Navigation or other procedures for online business development, please visit our website: http://www.newwebsiteteacher.com/index3.html
Sharon Zolna and Larry Zolna are article writers and coach individual and groups about online business development and related fields. For more information please visit our website: http://www.newwebsiteteacher.com/index3.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_Zolna
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