How to avoid your web site becoming a giant carbuncle
The architecture - or navigation and structure - of a web site have a huge impact on the site's overall usability. Having good content and providing your audience with what they want is of no use if a visitor cannot find it. A good site is structured according to the communities of visitor and types of information provided. A badly structured web site will confuse and can easily lead the visitor round in circles.
The clarity of the navigation system adopted is also highly important. It should be obvious where links lead to, where the visitor currently is in the site and how to get back. Without these basics being clear and visible, a site visitor will have great difficulty finding what they want. Navigational elements should appear in the same style in all places and where possible in the same position on the page. If a visitor has to spend too much time working out where they need to click to get to what they want, there is an increasing chance they will simply give up.
The structure of the site can help. By dividing the content into logical groupings the visitor can be lead one step at a time to find the information they want. However care must be taken to balance a wide structure (all possibilities presented at once) which can be confusing due to the number of options presented, against a deep structure (many levels of navigation with only a few possibilities at each level) which is frustrating because of the number of clicks that need to be made to reach the information.
Carbuncle or classic? experience engine can help you get more from the structure of your web site. Call 01992 500990 or use the contact form for more information.
