Structuring your Website for Success
There are a few basic rules you need to follow to get the navigation right:

Consistent structure - Have a consistent approach to presenting information throughout the website both on ‘information’ and ‘product’ pages – so for a jewellery retailer ‘product’ information might be having a product title, description, image and price in the same layout for each piece of jewellery. This delivers high impact information at a glance and helps visitors find their way around the site and more importantly makes it easier for them to take the next step. Think of the sites you use and find easy to use, compared to those you give up on after 30 seconds.

Navigation
Make sure the site is user friendly so there is a quick and easy way for people to get to the information they want. Navigation should be clear and intuitive, and consistent throughout the site. Its not advisable for example to have the menu bar across the top on some pages and then down the side on others. Users may spend only minutes on your site and they don’t want to have to educate themselves as to how to use it.

With any website there should be a number of ways visitors can find the information they are looking for. Different people brain’s work in different ways, likewise bear in mind that some people respond better to words than images and visa versa. Also people will be at different points in the buying process so you need to cater for these different needs.

Use a layered approach to information so visitors can drill down into detail only when they need to. Once they have found an item they like then they can click on the chosen image for more detailed information which could include more images, a zoom facility, materials, description and dimensions.

Call to action
Your site should be structured to encourage people to buy. This may sound obvious but I am sure everyone has experienced sites which seem to be designed to discourage you from buying.

Every page should have a strong call to action. In other words know what you want visitors to do next at each stage and make the action point obvious. For example, do you want them to request more detailed information, ask for a quote or buy on line? Is this clear from the page, bearing in mind that on websites people tend not to read whole pages, they flit around much more than information on a printed page?

Drop Down menus
Avoid drop down menu styles where words in the menu cannot be indexed by search engines. This style of navigation may mean that the critical piece of information a visitor is scanning for is missed because it’s “hidden” in a menu.

Make sure there is a natural flow of information with no dead ends. Map out your visitors’ journey for the different visitor groups and identify where they might not be able to get any further. Sometimes it’s easier to do this with an existing site – but it can be very costly to put right. Far better to spend the time mapping out these potential visitor journeys before you start on the site design.

If your structure and navigation and the underlying infrastructure of your site is sound it really shouldn’t be noticed by the user. It’s just there – and does what they ask of it.

Web Insider: Online Christmas Shopping Sales are set to rise by £2bn to £5bn this year as consumers shun the high street in favour of home shopping, according to e-tail body IMRG. Is your site ready for the Christmas rush? If not call Andy Robinson at Zarr on 01788 820900.

Web Insider:
How people use search engines

Case Study: Betting Online Online betting is being transformed by groundbreaking software developed by Zarr. Thousands of punters nationwide who place bets using Betfair will potentially be able to win more with the help of a system called the Betfair In Running Tool (BIRT). BIRT, developed for Sheffield company LSC Solutions, will enable people using Betfair to place more timely bets by updating information on odds every half a second. Betfair’s own site updates information every 30 seconds but BIRT will slash that time down to every half a second. Users will be able to click on the box for the bet they want to make and it will be placed immediately without having to go through the confirmation process. Although Betfair is quick, you can go from potentially winning to losing in a matter of seconds - infact in the time it takes to place your bet online. This is because the odds can change during that timescale. With BIRT, users can place bets after a race or event has started. This means a user at a racecourse with a laptop and an internet connection could see exactly what’s happening during race and place a bet, based on changes in events. BIRT has taken about four months to develop and illustrates another aspect of Zarr, our software development capability. Mark Reynolds said: “We’ve been going down the software development route for some time now, providing internet-based business solutions for companies throughout the UK. This unique solution demonstrates our ability to deliver web based ecommerce software that works. “ To discuss web based software solutions for your business call Mark Reynolds on 01788 820900.

Contact Zarr
If you are interested in finding out how your business can benefit from the latest web technology or if you need help with your online business strategy contact Zarr Internet Services on 01788 820900.

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