The two top reasons given for a visitor to leave a website
in haste are long download time and confusing navigation.
The top reason a search engine stops spidering a website is
confusing navigation without usable links. In this article
I delve into five design tools that will make your website
easily navigable and usable for visitors and search engines
alike.
TOOL #1. Make sure that all links appear somewhere on
the site as words (text). I love buttons and rollovers
but these are graphics and search engines don’t read
graphics. Alternatives include:
- Bottom of the page links -- you can still have
buttons, but always include the actual words as links somewhere
on the page. The bottom makes sense for those scrolling
down the page.
- Descriptive words that are also links -- these
serve several purposes. Besides helping with the navigation,
these words help with the direction in which you want your
visitors to go.
- Create a site map using words (text) and short descriptions --
after studying search engine optimization (SEO), I realize
the importance of using descriptive words for the links.
I now use a site map for all of the larger websites I design.
TOOL #2. Make liberal use of the ALT tag, which is the
textual name for a graphic. Use them for:
- Buttons and rollovers -- even when your buttons
sport names, the search engines and those who are blind
and using an Internet reading program won’t recognize
them without the ALT tags.
- Graphic hotspots that link to special pages or page
anchors (invisible bookmarks) -- I designed a regional
website with a map and stars on the map that take you
to a page dedicated to the star’s location. I use
ALT tags to name and describe the locations, so all the
visitor needs to do is roll over the stars and click
on the one that names the location they are looking for.
TOOL #3. Use anchors or bookmarks for speedy travel. These
are the invisible, but highly effective “markers” that
can be placed anywhere on a website and linked to from that
same page or from another page.
- “Back to Top” -- is the link to the
anchor “top” placed at the top of the page,
so if the page is lengthy, a visitor can get back to the
top immediately without having to scroll.
- Use anchors in an index -- if a page has many
headings for a particular topic, I often place the headings
in an index at the beginning of the page, making each a
link to that heading.
- Use anchors for special information -- for example,
you might place an anchor at a definition on a FAQ page
and then link to it for those who want more information.
I also use anchors for products referred to in another
context on a different page.
TOOL #4. Use underlining for links and don’t use
underlining for emphasis (non-links). Yes, there are
surfers who hate underlining, but an underline is usually
the clue that you have encountered a link.
TOOL #5. There is latitude in picking colors for links
and visited links. At least, all links are no longer
that jarring bright blue of the past, but remember that
the newer colors for links may still confuse some users.
My final suggestion is, “Know your target audience
and do everything you can to make their navigation of your
website a dream rather than a nightmare.”
Chris King is a professional website creator / designer,
storyteller, writer, free agent, and fitness instructor.
You will find her business website at
http://www.creativekeys.biz and
her information website at
http://www.creativekeys.net
