November 25th, 2008 by Samir Balwani
Why I Got Lost and Left Your Site
Category General, Tools and Resources | 17 comments »
I spend hours surfing the web, reading articles, and watching videos. Each site gets about a second to lure me in or watch me leave. Knowing how many users are enjoying your content, and how many are bouncing away is the first step in creating a useful website. Making sure you follow acceptable usability guidelines is the next step.
Good navigation is a must for any website. Going from one page to another should be intuitive and easy. Make sure each page has a navigation bar that points to major parts of your site.
The more options people have the better you chances of someone finding something they like. Be careful not to overload the navigation bar though, that might just turn people away.
One thing many people don’t do, but I highly recommend is making your logo a link to your home page. Giving people multiple options to get to your front page allows people to easily start over if they get lost.
Another question to ask yourself is, “Can people read what’s written?”. Using large legible fonts is important. Users are moving towards larger screens, with higher resolution. That size 11 font is a thing of the past, move to something easier to read and easy on the eyes.
Once you know your site is usable and people aren’t bouncing because of the way the site looks and flows, it’s time to decide what are important parts of your site.
Start by creating goals and conversion points. For example, are you trying to get users to sign up for your newsletter? or are you pushing a specific product?
Google offers the ability to track your conversions via Google Analytics. You should definitely set it up and watch it often.
When we talk about website flow we’re referring to how well your site funnels visitors. How long do they stay? How many are sent to conversion points? How many convert?
I’m going to leave the end of this post open, since there are so many different tips about navigation. I’ll post my favorite tip and ask that you add one in the comment section. When everyone has had a chance to sound off, I’ll compile them all together.
Samir’s Tip: Most users refuse to click on more than 3 links to find pertinent information. The less obstacles to a conversion point, the more likely they are to convert.
Now it’s your turn…
Popularity: 50% [?]
November 28th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I have to agree, navigation is key!
November 29th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I have to agree with you about the font sizes. I visited a competitor’s web site the other day, a web designer, and found the site to be really nicely designed. But, the font was so small that I could barely read the content. It was frustrating. My site may be simple, but, you can read it!
December 4th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
@Susan @Pamela: Thanks for the comments! It’s the little things that add up.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Very good point – “Most users refuse to click on more than 3 links”
December 31st, 2008 at 12:45 am
I have to agree, navigation is key. When your site is simple, the person who is on your site will stay longer searching it.
January 12th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
I work and design on a Mac, but when I see my sites on a PC desk type computer, the whole thing is much bigger. So a 12 pt type SHOUTS rudely from those screens. Also my colors go weird. What to do?
January 16th, 2009 at 1:34 am
Thanks for the advice. I think another important factor is having content people want and if they like the content they are more likely to convert.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I think most people use very small font because it looks “cool” and tidy. This holds ESPECIALLY true with IT specific sites. One has to realize though that computer screens are harder to read then print. If your site looks “cool” yet no one bothers to read your message because the font size is very small, then your entire effort is wasted.
February 16th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Easy navigation and proper font size is the key!
Another important key with navigation is to list it alphabetically AND logically!
Group things that naturally belong together – together, and separate those who don’t naturally belong together – into another group/section/another location!
http://twitter.com/hansfredrik
February 27th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I agree with everything that has been said here.
Couple of things not mentioned.
Short paragraphs and proper spacing to make reading easy. The most important when writing content is getting your sale made early in the copy.
April 16th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Keep it simple. Great article thanks.
May 25th, 2009 at 5:06 am
Great article, very usefull tips. Apart from the idea that 11px is a thing of the past, we should also think in those people who have some sort of visual handicap
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
I am a newbie to web design, but have been surfing the web for 6 years.
I don’t agree that people leave a site in a few seconds because of poor navigation !
Navigation is important, but you only need navigation if you plan to view some other pages after the Home Page!
To me the content of the home page, and the font size (I hate small grey type) is important as is also spelling and grammar etc.
If I start reading poor grammar and spelling I naturally think this web site is by a young kid or a non-English speaker and those things tend to put me off.
Regards
Digby
July 12th, 2009 at 1:44 am
I think that usability is way more than font-size and a logo linked to the homepage.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I can’t believe people actually pay marketing people- to me they are kind of like law firm librarians- totally unnecessary- think about it.
That’s what you call venting. anyone that knows me- knows that I want a responsible marketing position.
August 9th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I’m relatively new to the world of internet marketing. However, I agree with what you said regarding that if the font size is too small, or there is too much content to read, I won’t read it. With that being said, I made sure that I designed my website with a layout and font size that is easy on the eyes so that a visitor will be more inclined to stay on the page.
February 1st, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Thanks for the suggestions. I am NOT a website designer, am using a template, and am constantly changing my website – hopefully for the better. I have a question about browsers – hopefully someone can help me with. I am using Internet Explorer and play around with the template to make it look good. Then I switch over to Mozilla and it looks very different. For example, my logo looks better and fits better if I make it larger for IE but then on Mozilla it overlaps the navigation bar. I decided to keep it smaller on IE although it isn’t optimal because it is better than having it overlap on Mozilla. Any suggestions?