Top tips for better website navigation offered

11/08/2008

Companies can improve website usability through better navigation in a number of ways, according to small business portal Bytestart.

The site noted that research indicates improved website navigation can increase traffic by up to 50 per cent as users are better able to find the exact information they need.

Businesses looking to refine their navigation system should organise pages into relevant categories and avoid using a site structure that is more than three levels deep, Bytestart said.

Web design research into usability has previously suggested that users respond best to menu navigation placed in the top left or top of the screen, while the company logo should always be hyperlinked to the homepage, the website asserted.

Sites should also prominently display a search box and create a website map for both usability and search engine optimisation purposes, it added.

According to Google's webmaster guidelines, the search engine uses site maps to find out more about the website's structure and to help it increase coverage of the relevant web pages.