Regardless of your industry, if you’re considering rebranding, you’ve certainly worried about whether the expense will benefit your business. Whether you’re beginning from scratch or modernizing an existing brand, utilizing a systems-based approach to design is a good way to maximize your efforts. This basically translates to creating a flexible framework, or “design system,” for putting consistent changes into practice across all platforms. Because everyone who works to market your company is using the same organized source, it helps to ensure that your company stays true to its brand. This has two key advantages. A design system ensures that your audience gets a consistent brand experience and clears up any ambiguity inside your organization regarding brand rules.
Your internet marketing and sales activities could succeed or fail based on the structure of your website. A site that is difficult to use or impossible to browse won't result in satisfied visitors, and satisfied visitors won't result in paying customers, worthwhile leads, or an appreciative audience.
Fortunately, there are a few questions you can ask yourself to evaluate the way your site's navigation is now set up. Just keep in mind that a negative response to a question is an opportunity to succeed rather than a sign of failure. Any action you can take to increase the visibility of your content or make it simpler for site users to navigate between pages is a step in the right direction.
Are there too many clicks required to access some pages on your website?
You shouldn't have your website users climb Mount Everest in order to find a product, a contact, or other crucial information. There are differing views on how many clicks are excessive, but accepted wisdom is that a maximum of two or three clicks is a good benchmark. If readers have to exert any more effort than this, content can easily get buried. Your most crucial material should all adhere to this criteria.
Are the labels on your navigation too broad?
You won't be able to further establish your brand by using stale, vague, and uninteresting navigation headers like "products" and "services". They make using your website tedious. Descriptive titles are advantageous to users since they convey information more efficiently at a glance, especially in tiered navigation frameworks. Utilize your navigation's headers and titles as your first opportunity to introduce yourself and your brand to readers and search engines.
Are dropdown menus becoming too dependent on you?
We can scarcely blame you if your response to this question was a hesitating "maybe" or an emphatic "yes." Dropdown menus are a simple default and have been substantially normalized for navigational purposes. Even if you used a well-known third-party platform to build your website, your navigation options were probably constrained; you were only given the option of which dropdown menu to use, not whether to use one at all.
Does the home page have a link in your logo?
Although it might appear elementary, without gentle reminders, straightforward concepts often become oversights. On every page of your website, your logo should be prominently displayed (preferably in the same location and size); it is crucial that the logo links back to the home page if visitors click it.
This guideline is simply something that website visitors anticipate when they go to a brand's website; there is no secret logic behind it. It's a pretty safe chance that you'll realize exactly how frequently you rely on this practical shortcut yourself if you consider any major corporation's website and how you interact with it.
Are your navigational aids available at all times?
The most crucial of all the questions is possibly this one. The good news is that it's also the quickest to diagnose and fix. Any page on your website should be accessible to visitors from any other page they desire or need to reach. The ideal location for your navigation menu should be the same on all pages, but design exceptions are rarely a problem if the alternative is to completely omit navigation from some pages. No matter where they are on your website, users will be able to find what they need thanks to easy navigation.
The Secret to Unlocking the Potential of Your Brand is Website Navigation
The success of your brand can be greatly impacted by factors like website navigation. To maximize their internet presence, increase earnings, and more effectively target their marketing campaigns, some firms even choose to collaborate with marketing professionals. Companies that are aware of ethical SEO, marketing, and web building procedures can assist a brand in evaluating a site and resolving navigational problems.
Making sure that your brand's website works for your customers rather than expecting them to work for it is essential to having a successful online presence. Make sure to consider every component of your website's navigation in-depth.
Summary
You ought to now have a firm knowledge of what website navigation is and some of its most important components.
The navigation of a website should never priorities bold coolers and inventive design over simplicity and clarity. The navigation and menus on your site must accommodate users on both desktop and mobile devices, which might make things more difficult and necessitate employing a web developer Portland .
To ensure that both users and search engines can easily browse through your information, always aim to adhere to standard practices for website menu design.
Moving forward, usability and clarity will still be top considerations. Therefore, you can future-proof your menus if you can speak the same language as your users and design a layout that makes sense to them.
A potential buyer could visit a rival company while your website was still loading in under three seconds. Unsurprisingly, for every second that your website takes to load, the number of visitors who depart grows dramatically.
These projections were made public in an article published by Google's DoubleClick platform and focused on mobile websites. Since I do the same thing, I must admit that I wasn't shocked to learn about these numbers. Whether you can relate to it or not, technology is continuously pushing the boundaries and becoming faster and more efficient so maintaining website loading time is important nowadays.
Speed is not unusual; it is expected. It's terrible that we won't be able to turn a blind eye and expect that this issue would go away as each new generation of devices demands greater speeds.
Here are some startling figures you might not be aware of:
Checking the numbers is the first step to ensuring that your website loads quickly enough! There are some internet sites that will test this for free if you aren't using analytics that are particularly assessing your website load time. Pingdom , Gtmetrix is such tool.
How would I handle a slow website?
The amount of elements that affect how quickly a website loads is numerous. The content of a website page is the most important and controllable aspect. Compared to other parts of the website, images, sounds, and videos may be quite enormous in size. In order to minimize file size without sacrificing the quality of the photographs, a smart web development company will resize images and use the best image formats. It can be difficult to compress photos while maintaining a sharp appearance, but a pro can do it with equipment like Adobe Photoshop.
Web hosting is another potential speed-reducing element, particularly if it's provided by a server provider of lower caliber. Choosing a high-quality web host with a solid reputation is crucial if your website has heavy traffic or any e-commerce or transactional features. In this instance, sometimes you get what you paid for. However, cost does not always equate to quality, which is why doing a little research can help you build a dependable and quick website.
The easiest approach to monitor the health of your website and address any issues that may occur is to stay on top of your website analytics. It's also crucial to have a competent web development team.
SSL certificate
The small lock icon next to your website’s URL in the browser’s left-hand corner denotes an encrypted (protected) connection between the server and your browser. Your website suffers in numerous ways if this emblem is absent. Your website’s traffic will decline, search engine rankings will drop, and hackers are more likely to take advantage of you.
How to fix it – Contact your web design company in portland. They ought to be able to provide you with a certificate free of charge.
Favicon
The image that shows up in the left-hand corner of your browser’s tab is known as a favicon (short for favorite icon). It may have gone unnoticed, but it increases brand recognition and gives your website another polished appearance.
How to fix it – Log into your WordPress Dashboard, select Appearance > Customize > Site identity, and then click on the icon.
Unique Font
Times New Roman is probably your website’s default typeface by default. Unfortunately, this font is difficult to read, was not created for the web, and is not visually appealing. Make sure you select a unique font, and while you’re at it, alter the color. Nowadays, dark grey is the font color of choice for most websites instead of black. The eyes have it easier.
How to fix it – Logging into the WordPress Dashboard, choosing Appearance > Customize > Topography.
Missing pictures
It is obvious to all of your visitors that you haven’t visited your own website in months if a picture is absent from your page. Additionally, your business is likely inactive if you are not engaged online. When the file you wanted to display is no longer accessible, missing images occur. The majority of the time, it happens when the original image that was used was linked from another website.
How to fix it – Log into WordPress, find the page where the image is missing, change it, and then add another image from your Media Library in its place.
Links that are broken
Every website can experience broken links. The trick is being able to swiftly update and detect them. Similar to missing photos, hidden broken links convey to your visitors that you are not actively managing your business.
How to fix it – Check for broken links on your website using https://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/ or contact us , and we’ll make sure it performs to its maximum potential.
Working with Portland web designer professionals can greatly enhance the appearance of your WordPress site and give it a more professional look. Here are five simple things you can do with their help:
Custom Theme Design: Web designers can create a unique and professional-looking theme specifically tailored to your brand and target audience. They will consider your preferences, brand guidelines, and user experience to design a visually appealing and cohesive layout.
Typography & Font Selection: A web designer can assist you in making wise font selections that complement your brand identity and establish a pleasing typographic hierarchy. They will choose the appropriate font sizes, line heights, and spacing to guarantee readability, uniformity, and visual appeal throughout your website.
Color Palette Enhancement: Designers understand the psychology of colors and can help you select a cohesive and visually pleasing color palette for your WordPress site. They will consider your brand, target audience, and industry to create a color scheme that enhances your site’s overall appearance.
Responsive Design Optimization: With the increasing use of mobile devices, it is crucial to have a responsive website that looks and functions well on different screen sizes. Web designers can optimize your WordPress site for responsiveness, ensuring that it adapts seamlessly to various devices and maintains a professional appearance across all platforms.
Visual Hierarchy and Layout: A web designer can assist in creating an intuitive and visually appealing layout for your site. They will use principles of visual hierarchy to guide users’ attention to important elements and create a structured and organized design. This includes arranging content, images, and calls-to-action in a logical and aesthetically pleasing manner.
By collaborating with professional web designers, you can transform your WordPress site into a visually appealing and professional-looking platform that engages and delights your visitors.
