How to make your web site more effective

PART 4: Make your Web site easy to navigate and guide Web surfers through your pages

Last week, we've told you how to write good sales copy to convince Web surfers. This week, we're telling you how to direct your visitors to the right (order) pages.

1. Keep it simple, stupid (KISS)

Your navigation must be easy to understand. People must be able to find your links and they must know how to use them.

To achieve this goal, your navigation (and your whole Web page design) must be consistent from page to page. It's a good idea not to reinvent the wheel. Blue underlined text links work best as everybody knows how to use them.

Even if you have an image map (a picture with links) or navigation icons (see below), you should always have text links on every page. Some users turn off the display of images in their Web browser. They need text links, as well as the search engines which cannot index text on images.

Don't use Flash/Shockwave to design the navigation of your Web site since many users cannot access them.

2. Design navigation icons wisely (if you must use them)

Many people use little graphics or photos that link users to their pages as navigation elements. These navigation icons are offten unnecessary.

If your icons don't denote by themselves what the page stands for, don't use them. For example, don't use a meaningless icon like a smiley for a link to your contact page.

3. Use descriptive text links

Your visitors want to know what they can expect on the other end of the link before they click on it. Use descriptive link texts so that your visitors know what they get when they click on a link.

For example, the link text to your contact page should be called "Contact us" or "Contact information". This is what users expect and what they know. Don't experiment with texts like "Our address" or "Tell us".

4. Guide your visitors through your site

It's important that you guide people through your site. Don't give them too many choices. That will only confuse them.

Make sure that your visitors don't have to search for your important "download" or "order" links. Make it easy for your customers. If you have several support pages on your site, you don't have to list them all on your index page. A single link to your main support page is enough.

You can link to all other support pages on your main support page.

Don't link to other Web sites on your index page. People have finally managed to come to your Web site. Don't send them away by placing outgoing links on your index page.

Links to other Web sites are an important way to make your Web site more valuable for customers and for getting reciprocal links from other sites. However, use an extra "links" or "resources" page for outgoing links and open outgoing links in a new window.

Be sure that you customers can find what they're looking for on your site and that they don't have to search for it.

Make a test with a relative or a friend who is a bit unsure surfing the Web. Tell him or her to find out the price of your product or service. Look over his/her shoulder and find out how people can find ways you've never dreamt of. :-)

Your Web site navigation should be easy to understand and it should be consistent throughout your whole Web page. If people cannot find what they're looking for quickly and easily, they will leave your Web site.

PART 5: Checklist for an easy ordering process

When people have finally decided to purchase your product, you must make sure that your order page doesn't drive them away. Statistics indicate that more than 60 percent of online shoppers abort the ordering process.

Check if your potential customers can easily order the products or services on your Web site:

My order page is easy to find. I link from the home page and from all product and service pages to the order page.

My order page link is called "Order", "Buy", "Store", "Checkout" or anything else that my customers easily recognize.

I don't hide the price for my products or services. I know that people will not buy if they don't know what they have to pay.

I tell my visitors about shipping costs and state taxes.

My visitors know the final price before entering the credit card number.

My potential customers can trust me. They know who I am and they can easily find my complete company address.

My visitors don't hesitate to purchase because I offer a no-questions asked money back guarantee.

I tell my visitors upfront about my refund policy.

I tell my visitors upfront about my privacy policy.

My order pages are secure. They use at least 40 bit encryption so that my customers can safely enter their contact and purchase information.

My order pages are easy to understand. I've tested it with my friends or relatives that don't connect to the Internet very often.

I regularly test my order pages if they work.

If my server goes down, I'll get notified.

My order page displays a meaningful message if the customer forgets to enter the street name.

My order pages even work with international customers, for example German customers don't know what to enter in the "State" field and usually leave it empty. Some countries don't even have postal numbers. My order pages do work for them.

If you agree to all points, then your order pages won't stay in the way when your visitors decide to purchase from you.

Top Ten Mistakes of Shopping Cart Design

Other special articles

• The Google search engine resource page
  
  
• 10 ways to link popularity
  
  
• How link popularity can help your rankings
  
  
• 19 common mistakes that prevent your Web site from getting top rankings on search engines

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