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| Fitting the Pieces Together for a Great Website | |||
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Read this newsletter online
Issue #009- Effective Site Architecture
 Teach Yourself Search Engine OptimizationTeach Yourself SEO: "SEO Fast Start" by Dan Thies is a step by step guide for beginning to intermediate webmasters. Price: $29.95, instant download.Getting From Point A to Point X : Effective Site NavigationBy Scottie Claiborne © 2004Finding Your Way Through the MazeImagine you are visiting a friend in the hospital. Most regional health facilities these days are enormous, made up of many separate buildings joined by hallways and tunnels. Some elevators go to patient floors, others only go to offices, while others lead to staff areas. It's very complex, and yet people must be able to find their way around intuitively and quickly. How do the institutions solve this problem? Consistent signage. No matter where you go in a hospital, there are signs at every corner identifying the major locations. It's easy to find your way around by checking the signs as you walk along. Cafeteria, Gift Shop, Patient Floors, Emergency, Main Entrance and other key landmarks appear with corresponding arrows to direct you, no matter where you are in the complex. As you pass through specific areas, more signs appear under the main ones- Radiology, In-Patient Waiting Room, Human Resources, etc. Despite having to walk through 3 buildings, cross a mezzanine, and take countless turns, you can easily find the cafeteria, then return to your original location. You might not be able to visualize it or plot it on a map, but you don't need to. You just need to trust the signs to get you there. Finding Your Way Around a WebsiteWebsites are very similar- no matter what their ultimate goal is, your visitors need to intuitively find their way around. Like the consistent signs in a large building, your primary navigation links help visitors find the general area that they are interested in. Similar to the smaller department signs in a large facility, secondary links define the path to specific pages. Too often, general website navigation disappears or changes on internal pages. It's very similar to going down a hallway and seeing the sign for where you want to go, but suddenly the main entrance, cafeteria, and emergency signs are gone. You wonder if you'll be able to find your way back!Start with a Site ArchitectureWhen planning your site or your site redesign, think about the structure first. It sometimes helps to physically map out the pages; using index cards, write a page topic on each card and group them together, laying them out on a table or on the floor or pinning them to a bulletin board. If you prefer a linear approach, simply make a numbered outline with the title of each page and again, group them together. This is your site architecture- your blueprint for the foundation of your site. Example Site ArchitectureHome
Primary NavigationThe bold headings are the main navigation links and will appear on every page. When designing your site, build these links into the design of the page so that they will appear consistently on every page in the same place. Leave room for future expansion as needed! Housekeeping LinksYou may want to separate sales or info items from "housekeeping" links. Housekeeping links are the things people want to be able to find from any page but they don't need to be prominently featured in the design. Often links such as privacy policy, sitemap, shipping info, login, FAQ and contact us appear in a smaller font in the header or footer of the page while your "business" links are featured down the left or right side of the page or across the top.Ordering LinksPlace your links in order of importance… think about how users progress through the site. They will scan the navigation links from left to right or top to bottom until they find what they are looking for. Put the links you WANT them to see first in the list. Keep them in that order on every page.Secondary NavigationSecondary navigation or subnavigation are the links that appear as we "get closer" to our destination. These links may appear as: a) A new column of links indented directly under the main page link The deeper your site is, the more likely it is that you will have several layers of subnavigation. As long as users feel confident they are headed in the right direction, they will continue to progress through the site but try to minimize the number of clicks it takes to get to the relevant information whenever possible. Breadcrumb TrailsBreadcrumb trails are links (usually in a small font and placed directly below the page header) that show where the user is in relationship to the home page. Example: Home > Subject > Category > This Page Breadcrumbs give the user a quick way to jump to a higher level in the site. This is particularly useful for sites with deep structures but can be helpful on any site. If a visitor lands on a page from a search engine query, they can easily find similar pages without having to start over at the home page. Body Text NavigationMake it easy for visitors to find the depth of information you have available! Review each page of your site to see where it makes sense to link the text in the copy of the page to a related page for more info. We may want to link directly to a featured special from the home page, and we definitely want to link to Widget Installation and specific Widget Resource pages from our widget product pages in case visitors want more info.Navigation Do's and Don'tsDon't Open Pages in New WindowsThis is confusing to users and it breaks their "back" button. They end up with a bunch of windows open and often close them all in frustration.Don't Move Page Elements from Page to PageOnce a user has "learned" where the main links are on the page, don't make them look for them by changing their order, moving them all to the footer on some pages, or eliminating them entirely from others. While that may seem "boring" or hampering creativity, remember a website has to be functional first and foremost or no one will appreciate your creativity.Don't Try to Put Every Link on Every PageUnless the site is relatively small, don't try to link to every page from every page. A footer full of lists of links or a side navigation bar that scrolls for 2 pages is confusing and simply more information than the visitor needs. Create a logical organization of pages using subnavigation and add a sitemap to help users quickly find the page they need.Use "Coolness" SparinglyFlash, DHML and javascript flyout menus seem to solve the problem of deep navigation by displaying additional links when moused over, but usually aren't needed. If you love them and must have them, be sure to put plain text navigation links in the footer of the page for search engine spiders and users who don't have javascript turned on or flash installed.Do Use Color to Identify LinksUse CSS to add a hover color to links so that users can see what they are about to click. Your links don't have to be underlined, but do make them a different color so that they stand out from surrounding body text. Don't expect visitors to mouse over every word on the page to discover if it is a link or not! Similarly, don't color plain text the same color as your links. Your poor visitors will click and click on that text. If your links are red, don't emphasize sales text with red as well! Do Use Alt Text on Image LinksIf you use images as your navigation links, be sure to add descriptive text to the alt attribute-typically the words you would have used if it were a text link. This will allow visitors who can't see the images to still be able use your site and help search engine spiders (including your own site search functions) identify what the page is about.Consistentcy, Consistency, ConsistencyAbove all, be consistent! However you decide to organize your navigation, don't make visitors relearn it from one section of the site to the next. Once they find their way around, they want to be able to navigate the site without thinking too much about it.Good site architecture is the foundation of your site-- take some time to think it through and test it with real users to make sure your foundation is stable and strong. Scottie Claiborne is the owner of Right Click Web Consulting and the facilitator of the Successful Sites Newsletter. She is a speaker at the Search Engine Strategies conferences and the High Rankings Seminars as well as the administrator of the High Rankings Forum. Writing for the Search EnginesWhen you're writing copy for your website, you need to know where to place those pesky keywords so that they don't interrupt the flow of your writing. Get Jill Whalen's Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines report.20 Ways to Improve Newsletter ConversionsBy Kim Krause© 2004 Cre8pc.com/UsabilityEffect.comWe've all seen them. They come in various sizes, and though they look innocent enough, they're really a mysterious black hole leading to something even more puzzling. A newsletter! Hard to believe, but it's true. A newsletter signup box can be that easy thing you stick in a corner, yet you come to realize it's not earning its keep. People aren't signing up. Not long ago I did some troubleshooting for a company who couldn't figure out why there were so few subscribers to their newsletter. After they received my report, they wrote back, "To be honest, we put that up because we were told its good to have a newsletter." Nobody told them it takes a lot more than putting up a little signup box on a web page. Here's a rundown, in no particular order, of things to consider if you publish a newsletter or any type of subscription-based publication (such as news updates or sales promotions) that requires asking for someone's email address and their name. The idea behind the list is to increase conversions, reduce signup abandonment and inspire interest in your subscription offering. 1. Are there too many opportunities for signup? 2. Did you extend a polite invitation during conversational content somewhere? 3. Does the box contain scan words such as "Free", "Sales", Special"? (Ex. "Subscribe to our free newsletter.") 4. Did you study your target market to learn if there is a need for your type of newsletter? Who are your intended readers? 5. Be careful. Some forms are confusing, such as when they ask for a mailing address for an EMAIL only newsletter. Why do you want to know where they live? (If you have a good reason, it's best to clearly state what that is.) 6. Is the newsletter intended for an International audience? If there is a reason to ask for personal information, make sure the form is designed for International users to fill out. 7. Link to a privacy policy at or near the top of the sign up form. This explains exactly what will happen to the subscriber's email address and any other information they're asked to give. If they don't trust your motives, they may refuse to sign up. 8. A simple newsletter sign up box should request a user name and email address that will accept the email. Instructions near or inside the box, or in the newsletter information page, explaining they'll receive a confirmation email verifying their information will increase user confidence. 9. Always link to a sample issue. Otherwise, they have no idea what they're signing up for. Always refer to the title of the publication. I've seen signup requests for publications with no name! 10. Provide free archives. A history of a newsletter indicates if it's new, or an established publication. The latter hints at authority on the subject matter. If new, note somewhere that archives will be provided. In this way, you offer a second chance to sign up later, once the prospect has an opportunity to see the product. 11. Have you seen this? I have. Some newsletters ask for content suggestions and ideas, but they don't have an issue available, or archives online, making it difficult to understand what they cover, or what was previously written about. 12. How often does it arrive? Make sure this is indicated on the informational page. 13. Is it HTML or text based? Do you offer a choice? 14. What are the benefits of subscribing? Does it teach? Offer discounts? Accept advertising? 15. How good is it? Provide testimonials and reader feedback, with their permission. This is especially helpful in competitive industries. 16. If your publication is monthly, here's an idea from magazine publishers. In your information page, list the topics to come in the next year beforehand. This is great for fee-based publications too. Keep the reader interested by what you plan to cover. 7. Offer referral incentives. This may make more sense for fee-based publications, but be creative. If you're a consultant, and want to drive up readership, is there something you can offer such as free 15 minutes of your time, or a give away ezine, or discount on future services? 18. Announce upcoming issues on your homepage, and the publication itself. Some newsletters come the same day, every week. If for some reason they will NOT be delivered, make sure to warn subscribers in the previous issue. Otherwise, you may be bombarded with "Where's my newsletter!" emails. 19. Avoid relying on a simple box signup alone. Place a "View information" text link inside it that invites your visitor to learn more, gain trust, and get excited about your publication. Place a "Tell a friend" box on the information page too, for fast and easy referrals to your newsletter. 20. For more ideas on how to promote and present a newsletter offering, study the techniques used by Successful-Sites. There's information on the writers, pictures, archives, topics, resources, and more! Kim Krause is the owner of Cre8pc.com and the newly launched UsabilityEffect.com. She is also the administrator of the popular Cre8asite Forums. Wrap UpIt's a hospital-illness kind of newsletter today, so keeping with that theme, I want to get you guys to do something nice if you have a minute. My friend Mike Grehan, author of Search Engine Marketing Book and my host for a wonderful Indian dinner while I was visiting London, is feeling under the weather and has been in and out of the doctor's office this week. If you've read his book or heard him speak, or if you just want to do something nice for the fun of it, send Mike a silly e-card or get-well message to wildmikeg@hotmail.com. On a different note, I'll be speaking at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose Aug. 2-5 and I have a free pass to give away! If you want to attend and can handle your own travel expenses to the conference, send an e-mail to sesticket@successful-sites.com with a short message about why you'd like to attend and I'll announce the winner in the next newsletter. That's it for this edition- have a good one! -Scottie Have a Specific Question About Today's Articles?Do you wish you could get a little advice on a specific issue about your site? Come on over to the High Rankings Forum and ask me or any of the other super helpful moderators or members.Unsubscribe/Subscribe Successful Sites is a double opt-in list. This means that you had to subscribe and then also confirm your intent to join our list. We never send unsolicited email. To unsubscribe see the information below. | |||||
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