Losing Web Site Visitors By Allowing Them to Get Lost


by Cynthia Pinsonnault - Date: 2007-02-18 - Word Count: 551 Share This!

Have you ever found yourself in a strange area trying to find your way around. You know where you want to be, what you need to find. You just can't find it. You get a map, but the streets have no street signs so no matter what you do, you keep getting lost -- and frustrated -- and angry. And pretty soon you decide to look elsewhere for what you need.

Web Sites Need Street Signs Too

Letting visitors get lost on your Web site can be as simple as not indicating the current page. With very large complex sites, this is a critical mistake. Not only is current page indication a must, but a site index or site map is a worthwhile addition.

Most people who come to your site are looking for something specific. If they get lost or become confused, and can't find it in a short period of time, they will leave your site and look elsewhere.

What is the Purpose of Your Site?

Really think about this. Why do you have a Web site? Do you want to sell something? A product? A Service? Do you want to get prospects? Make sales? These kinds of things happen when a visitor comes to your site and finds what they are seeking. Or finds information that is useful. Or learns something new and interesting. This builds trust and comfort. This turns site visitors into prospects and customers.

A Visitor Who is Lost, is Lost to You as Well.

Frustrated, angry visitors do not convert to customers. They don't come back to your site. They don't join mailing lists or sign up for anything. They don't tell their friends about your site. The best search engine optimization will only get visitors to your Web site. How it's organized, and how workable it is for the visitor, is what converts them into prospects and customers.

The virtual reality world of a Web site makes it easy to get lost or, more important, makes it easy to feel lost. Page identification should be obvious. There are very good reasons to use page titles in the browser title bar, but since people rarely notice the title bar, it's not enough to prevent visitors from getting lost.

All navigation should indicate the current page. Each page should have a prominent title near the top of the page copy. A site map or site index should be part of larger or complex Web sites. Each page should have a unique name in the navigation that is repeated on the page. Don't use a different name in the navigation than is used on the page. The only exception that you may need to abbreviate a page name to fit navigation bars. But make sure it is an obvious abbreviation. Be absolutely certain that every single page has basic navigation that will take visitors to the main areas of the site, and that every page has a link to the home page. Do not allow visitors to get to a dead end with no place to go.

If something is hard to use it doesn't get used very much.

Think about the purpose of your site and, with the user's viewpoint in mind, compare these guidelines to your site's user interface. Where can you improve the user's experience? How can you create or build comfort and trust?


Related Tags: marketing, website, design, web, graphic, site, analysis, usability, user interface, workability

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