Imagine yourself on that last errand before going home. You need to stop by the local grocery store to pick up your daughter’s favorite cereal.
You enter the store and see rows upon rows of groceries, none of which are marked.
Every item is white and unlabeled; there is nothing except the shape to help identify what might be in it. Oh yea, the aisles aren't marked either.
Welcome to an unorganized, uncategorized, unidentifiable, and unstructured nightmare! Would you even know where to start? You could wander these aisles for days trying to find that one box of cereal.
Now imagine your web site is that grocery store. If your users are unable to find anything or identify how to find it, will they visit again?
Not likely.
I can't stress enough the amount of pre-planning that must go into a web site, no matter how big or small the business or organization.
The challenge is to identify what is important to your users.
Sometimes the perspective is skewed by what the business information owners THINK the end users want and need.
So let's restructure that grocery store:
Aisles - think of the aisles as your primary navigation. This is where you can guide the shopper to the right area, by creating an identifier. "Cereal and Breakfast Foods" says, "Hey! Come on down here to start your search!"
Shelving - this is your next level of navigation and categorizes items by groups. Do you see boxes of oatmeal mixed in with the kids’ cereal? No! The products are logically grouped together and easily found within their groups. You won't see a box of granola sitting next to Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch. All similar items are placed in proximity, so that you can find them.
Products - These represent the specific content or final product that your users are looking for. Success!! Your daughter will have her favorite cereal after all.
What helps build this structure?
Statistics: If you already have an existing web site and have some analytics, study them and determine what areas people are viewing, and using the most. What is in highest demand? In grocery stores you'll see high-demand items on the cap, or end of the aisle. Are you promoting what is in demand? Don't think in terms of products alone; think in terms of services and information as well.
Other detailed information: What is your highest-demand item as determined by sales? What is your most-requested service as identified through phone logs? Incorporate that into your web site, via a promotional area or stitched into navigation or both!
Basic information: Are you providing the basics? Sometimes we don't see the forest for the trees. Some folks just want the “who do I call?” type of information. Make sure it's there and easy to find. In some instances “less is more" still holds true.
Navigation links: Are they clear and concise? Are they in an order that makes sense - most important to least? Product-driven? Are they comprehendible? Be sure to avoid acronyms and specific “lingo” that users won't understand.
A well-organized web site will help your users find what they need, get them to return to your site, and add credibility to you business/organization.
Let's try to make that trip to the store a lot less stressful.