Navigation and Layout: A visitor will leave immediately if they are unable to navigate your website. Studies have shown the typical view time when first visiting a page is two to four seconds, visitors who do not immediately understand how to navigate the site or see what they want will almost immediately leave. Internet users know that if your page does not have what they are trying to find there is plenty of others that will.

Link to all subpages from the main page

Your main page should link to all of your subpages; if this is not possible it should at least link to your main sections. When designing your website, make sure visitors can find what they are looking for within a few clicks. This can be accomplished by making lists of sub-pages or categories, adding your own search engine, or making a site map.

Subpages should link back to the main page

All your subpages should link back to your home page or other main sections of your main page. Many of your visitors will not visit your page through the home page, make it easy for visitors to go there from all subpages. For example, a company logo or name should link to the main page, a navigation bar it should have a link that says “home”, and the bottom of the page should also link to the home page for visitors looking for more information.

Have a search engine

If your page does not its own search engine, consider using a third-party search engine. These custom search engine scripts can often be implemented into your site in less than a few minutes.

Navigation and Layout