Creating a Website- Navigation Matters.

Creating a website with good visual aesthetics is not hard, it just takes some planning.

Preparation
Before you start a website, there are some things to consider. So---the next few posts in the "Creating a Website" series will be information about the prerequisites you need before showtime on the world wide web.

Website Terrain
I compare website navigation to the streets and highways of the US. Some roads are easy to navigate because of proper signage and smooth, well-kept pavement. Some streets will have several detours due to reconstruction and bad planning. Planning and structure are the main must haves when creating a website. Creating the plan and structure of your website will give your viewers a unique experience when visiting your page. This is called website navigation.

What is website navigation?
It's the way viewers move about the pages of a website. It's the way we find information on a site. It's the way we search for anything on the web!


It's so important for users to be able to navigate a website quickly and with ease. When it is hard to find, hard to read, hard to---whatever, the viewer is immediately turned off and [X] goes your website.


Examples of BAD website navigation

Mistake #1:
What's wrong here?: Too Cluttered
What happens? Viewer gets confused. Viewer spends too much time searching. Viewer gives up.
Solution: Visually emphasize 3-4 of the most frequented features of the website

Mistake #2:
What's wrong here? Too many colors
What happens? Viewer can't read text. Viewer gets frustrated. Viewer is no longer interested.
Solution: Use 2 colors at max. To make it seem colorful use derivatives of the 2 colors
(for example: color 1=blue color 2=orange color 3=orange @ 50% opacity color  4=blue @ 30% opacity)

The More You Know
There are several other bad things that could make your website hard to navigate an easy to resist. Check out this page and read up on some of the things that repel viewers from your website.

NEXT: Creating a Website: Planning 101