In the last few days I’ve landed on no less than three sites suffering from the exact same business-killing issues. These mistakes make it really hard for your site visitors to find what they’re after. And when someone can’t figure out how to find what they’re after in the first couple seconds…They’re gone. 

What small business owners typically don’t realize is, most Websites aren’t designed and built to get results. Because most experienced Web designers and developers—and even many graphic designers—don’t know the first thing about sales and marketing. Or how to get the ideal prospect’s attention then convince them to take action.

Really, they shouldn’t. They have more than a full-time job being great at what they already do. They don’t have the time to become sales and marketing experts too. That means you have to know how to plan your own Website. Otherwise you’re going to end up losing money instead of making money.

As a copywriter, Practical Marketing Expert and Website strategist, I’ve spent the last ten years helping entrepreneurs create Websites that actually DO get results (i.e. build a list, make sales, generate registrations, etc.). So I’ve learned a thing or two about what works.

Thankfully many of the common Website mistakes are easily fixed. Then, rather than having visitors click away confused, they stick around, read, click, sign up and even buy (Love that!).

Recently I shared the first of these major Website mistakes and its fix (Read that article here). Today I’m sharing another common, costly, yet easily resolved mistake 

Website Problem #2 – Your navigation is confusing!

This problem manifests in a whole bunch of different ways…From putting your main navigation at the bottom of the page where someone has to scroll to see it, to burying it in loads of text, boxes, graphics and ad banners.

Recently I’ve been seeing this manifest in a new way as well: Hidden online scheduling buttons. You see, I have a massage therapist and a chiropractor that have both started offering online appointment booking. Great! Love it!

The only problem is that in both cases, the link to the appointment scheduler is buried at the bottom of the page. And in one case I have to click a main navigation link that goes to a page that explains the online scheduling. Then I have to scroll to the bottom to find the button that actually takes me to the calendar.

In both instances, I can tell you that if I’d been in a hurry (or if I was a new patient not already convinced of the unique wonders of their services) I would never have managed to schedule an appointment. And they would have lost my business.

Why? Because when someone lands on a new Website, they spend less than one second making the visceral decision to stick around. Then maybe another two or three seconds looking for what they’re after.

If they can’t find the navigation, or a link to what they’re after, they’re gone. In fact, studies have shown that easily 50% of online transactions are lost because the site visitor can’t find what they’re after!

• Research by User Interface Engineering, Inc. shows that people can’t find the information they seek on a Web site about 60 percent of the time.
   
• Studies by Forrester Research estimate that approximately 50 percent of potential sales are lost because users can’t find information and 40 percent of users do not return to a site when their first visit is a negative experience.

Solution: Plan your navigation thoughtfully and carefully.

1)      Think carefully about what information is most important to your site visitor and make sure the links to that information are in your main navigation. Then consider what’s most important to achieving your business goals and include links to that in your main navigation as well.
 

2)      Make sure your site navigation is easy to find and identify. Ideally that means your main navigation options should be in the same spot at the top of EVERY page. Making them bold and using a defined link color also helps.
 

3)      Don’t overwhelm the visitor with too many options. Five to seven main navigation options is ideal. Definitely don’t have more than nine including Home and Contact pages.

Secondary (i.e. less important) information can go in navigation at the very tippy top of the page (this is a great place to link to shopping carts or client login pages), the very bottom of the page, down the side, or be linked to only from specific pages on the site.
 

4)       Be clear not creative with your link names. In other words, make sure someone can tell what they’re going to find when they click a link. Otherwise they probably won’t take the time.

Creating a business-building Website takes careful thought and planning. You have to understand what your prospect wants and needs to see in order to stick around. Then you have to make sure they can easily find it in two clicks or less (or they’re gone). Do those things and you’re going to see your response rates increase and your business grow.
 

What do you think? Have you stumbled across bad navigation before? How’s the navigation on your site?