Ecommerce web site design
Internet Marketing Plan: Site Navigation
Your Internet marketing plan should refer to how information
is structured to accommodate the audience and the site’s
purpose. Information architecture is determined by how users
will browse and navigate the site.
Information architecture determines the site’s usability
and hence contributes to the success of your strategic Internet
marketing plan. The features you must consider include the
following:
Ecommerce Web Site Design: Navigation Pointers
Navigation pointers like labeled buttons, descriptive links,
highlighted terms help users navigate the site. Present clusters
of information with clear pointers either as text or as graphic
pointers to lead the user to each area. The information is
logically grouped into chunks and identified with descriptive
labels and icons.
A well-designed advertising web site simplifies the task
of locating information, and facilitates the user’s ability
to move from one page to another. The architecture of the
site provides the users a means of identifying their current
location in the site plan and provides navigation tools to
guide them from one location to another.
To assist users in navigating through a site’s content,
follow these guidelines:
Navigation should be easily learned and should remain consistent
throughout the site.
Make your navigation scheme transparent to your users. Users
will not spend the time to learn a complicated scheme. Remember
you have only one chance to make a good first impression.
Be consistent in the placement and design of navigation elements.
Users expect that navigation buttons and bars be displayed
in the same place on every page. Consistency builds the users’
trust and enhances the quality of the experience.
Provide visual context
Visual techniques like templates and style sheets, and items
such as last updated or modified date stamps, provide important
clues so users know where they are in the site. Include a
"Home" button on each page, giving users quick access
the site’s top-level information. Minimise reliance on
browser navigational buttons. Create site-specific navigational
links on each web page so users can see where they are in
the site regardless of their entry point. Do not violate expected
browser behaviors that users have come to know and trust.
For instance, if they expect the browser’s back button
to take them to the previous page, don’t break this rule
without a good reason. Provide clear visual messages and labels
Interface design is about visual guidance. How navigation
options are presented is closely tied to how usable they are.
If these options are hidden, difficult to find, or look too
much like text or are otherwise visually confusing, your users
will have trouble navigating the site. When selecting labels,
use the terminology familiar to your users. Insider jargon
is a barrier to clear communication. Good labeling is based
on common sense and user sensitivity.
Provide a search mechanism
Sites should provide some type of search interface or site
index to help users quickly access information that may be
located deep within the site.
Ecommerce Web Site Design: Browse
How the user browses your site determines the user’s
"experience" of the site. Some sites provide little
distinct organisational flow, but rather offer materials in
a "find and seek" approach. Browsing is facilitated
by providing several methods of accessing the information:
organising content in alphabetical order, by keyword categories
and/or table of contents. Letting the user "discover"
the site’s elements is well suited to children’s
materials on an outreach site, where the user might be exploring
and discovering concepts.
Ecommerce Web Site Design: Classification
Some sites are based on a standard taxonomy (or classification).
For example, a Financial Services marketing site might use
Financial Services thesaurus for its taxonomy. Large sites
with diverse content can be structured by categories, providing
various subject headings to encompass the variety of topics.
A well-known example of this type of structure is the Yahoo
site.
Ecommerce Web Site Design: Cluster
Clustering different aspects of a central idea or element
is useful for a small business site with a very specific focus
(for example, car buying: costs, locations, financial services).
Ecommerce Web Site Design: Flowchart
To show steps in a sequential order or a process use a flow
diagram; for example, show the steps in how to paint a car:
sanding> primer coat> final top coat.
Ecommerce Web Site Design: Hierarchical
Hierarchical order presents information in main categories
and subcategories that are structured vertically. This organisational
pattern is used for sites with dense information content.
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