Simple things can have a major impact on the rankings and on the conversion rate of your website. A website that has great content won’t deliver many customers, if the navigation menu on the website is bad. The navigation menu of your website is equally important as the content of your web pages.
Website visitors are impatient. If they cannot find what they are looking for within seconds, they will go to another website. The following tips will help you to improve the navigational elements on your website:
1. A simple navigation menu is best
The website navigation menu should be at the place where people expect it. The menu should be at the top of the page, or on the left side of your web page. Do not use fancy designs or unusual symbols. It must be easy to find and identify the website navigation menu on all pages of your website.
2. A clear structure helps a lot
Cluttered and confusing menus will alienate your website visitors. Your website navigation menu should be clear and logical.
Most website visitors don’t want to think. They want a quick solution, and they want it now. Make sure that the links to the most important pages of your website can be found easily. It’s not necessary to link to every single page of your website in the website navigation menu.
If your website has categories and sub categories, it’s usually enough to link to the categories in the menu. Then you can link to the sub category pages from the category pages.
3. Descriptive menu item names are better
The easier your website navigation menu is to understand, the more people will use it. The link to your home page should be labeled ‘Home’. The links to your category pages should use descriptive words that make clear what the categories and linked pages are about.
Do not use generic words in your menu. If the linked page is about brown shoes, the website navigation menu item should be labeled ‘brown shoes’. Don’t make your website visitors guess. If it makes sense, include the words for which you want to get high rankings in the menu items.
4. Don’t use JavaScript
You can use JavaScript to enhance the look of your website navigation menu. However, the basic menu should work without JavaScript. Some people disable JavaScript for security or privacy reasons. These people won’t be able to navigate on your website if your menu requires JavaScript. In addition, most search engines cannot fully parse JavaScript.
5. Your menu must work on smartphones
Today’s Internet is mobile-first! It’s essential that your website and your website menu works on mobile devices. There’s no way around that.
Use the hamburger menu symbol (three horizontal lines) to show your website menu on mobile phones. Users are used to that symbol and it makes it easier to find your website menu on smartphones. The symbol looks like this:
The font size should be easy to read on mobile phones. If your website has a search feature, it should be easy to reach on mobile phones.
Get more conversions and improve your website now
These simple things will help you to get more conversions. Keep your website navigation menu simple and don’t make your website visitors think. If you also have a mobile-ready website, more people will buy on your website.
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