by HiTouchWeb | Jul 19, 2013 | Website Planning
The Danger of Choice –
Have you ever visited a website that bombarded you with so many navigation menu items that you went berserk? How did it make you feel? You probably felt exhausted after scanning the mile of possible options and developed “analysis paralysis”. A good example of when this human condition springs into life is when a consumer is presented with too many choices at the supermarket. If it was an either or decision then the action to purchase can be made swiftly and with less label comparisons. But introduce 4, 5 or 6 options and studies have proven this to be Kryptonite to the best of super shoppers.
The Goal of Your Website
Sometimes, and especially with small business web design, less is actually more. Think about what you truly want to achieve when a visitor lands on your website. Is your goal to impress them by having every single category related to your industry visible to the eye? Or is your goal to have the visitor take quick and immediate action? If you answered the former, then you’re probably already wealthy beyond reason. For most of us the primary goal of a website is to have a visitor take action by delving deeper into our website through a button, link or menu item or by contacting us via email, contact form or phone.
Horizontal vs. Vertical Menu Layouts
The decision to use a horizontal or vertical navigation layout is based on style preference. There are many more design options that contain a horizontal layout but I find that a vertically oriented menu system provides better visibility of the content on a page. It also enables you to have more content above the fold. However, in most cases I go with a horizontal layout simple based on the former point regarding design options. A vertical menu can also afford you the flexibility to include more menu items without making a page look to cluttered.
Take Action Now!
To organize your menu system start with a spreadsheet, a piece of paper or a mind map. I’ve used all three but in most cases I start with an “old school” sheet of paper. Write down your primary services and/or products and then decide if you want them all under one page or if you want to build a sub-page hierarchy. If you decide on sub-pages you can manually create a mind map by following these instructions:
- Start with a blank piece of paper
- Write “Services” or “Products” at the center of the page and circle it
- Write the different categories evenly dispersed around the central circle and circle each categories
- If there are sub-categories then write down the sub-categories around each category and circle each sub-category
Now determine what other pages your website needs. The traditional pages found on a Small Business Website are:
- Home
- About Us
- Products and/or Services and sub-pages
- Testimonials and/or Reviews
- Blog
- Contact Us
Multiple Menus
In some cases the home page link can be your logo which can free up some more space in your menu. It is also possible with some web designs to have multiple menu systems. If this is an option for your website then you can place the most important items to your website visitors on the primary menu and place the lesser important menu items in a footer menu or a secondary menu in the header of your website. For example you might want to put the “About Us” menu item in the secondary or the footer menu. While it is important to you and it should be readily found it is not necessarily a catalyst to generating your desired goal or a phone call, email or walk-in visit.
Bad Example
This is a bad example of a navigation menu. It looks like they tried to feature as many items but at the same time it’s difficult at first for a visitor to know where to go.
Good Example
This is a great example of a navigation menu. As you can see they have two menus. The primary menu is in the horizontal grey bar and the secondary menu is just above. This two menu system makes for a easy navigation and doesn’t make the site feel cluttered at all.
If you need help building your website don’t hesitate to contact HiTouchWeb. We’ll build an affordable small business website that converts visitors into customers. See our affordable website packages for more details.
by HiTouchWeb | Apr 23, 2013 | Success Principles
The 90 year old millionaire –
I’ve had the privilege of being surrounded by positive people for most of my life. My grandfather was a pastor and his source of inspiration came from a higher power. He was possessed with an attitude of positivity which he shared with thousands of people around the world. No wonder in his 90s he still has his mind set on becoming a millionaire through an online business of his very own, of which 100% of his proceeds will be used to help others. This all while having to wear special magnified glasses just so he can make out the words on a computer screen. Having a positive mindset sets you and others around you on a course for success regardless of your circumstances.
Automatically get what you want
While some subscribe to ruthless adages such as winning is everything and nice guys finish last; I believe that a disposition towards giving rather than getting will result in true success. I read a book once recommended by one of my life mentors. It was called “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. It read …”if you help enough people get what they want you will automatically get what you want.”
Why be a rat in the rat race
It was my eureka moment. Since then I’ve tried to guide my business life by these infectious words but it wasn’t so easy to do. The rat race was filled with so much greed, envy and mistrust. In some cases I regret to say that my desire for survival usurped my desire to live by the ideals I cherished.
Building virtual real estate
When I first entered the Internet industry 10+ years ago I was excited by the potential presented by a wild west marketplace. Much of the rules and regulations were still to be written and in many ways still are. I became obsessed with domain names and the parallel between virtual online real estate and physical properties. This drove me to learn how to build websites for the virtual addresses I owned. I first used free tools like Weebly and Yola but quickly found that they were limited in my ability to create beautiful professional-looking websites from scratch. This lead me to learn about platforms such as Drupla, Joomla and WordPress. I quickly discovered that WordPress was the clear leader in the Content Management and SEO space so I fine-tuned my knowledge of this platform to build websites for my personal projects.
You charge what for a website!
When I entered the Internet Marketing space I focused on how I could help business get more customers through Online advertising techniques. This would also help me to get what I wanted which was to keep them as a client. This principle again led me to help several of my clients to build better websites to help them to convert more of their website visitors into clients. I started by referring my clients to different web designers I could find locally online but when I heard what web designers were charging for a website I was forced to start designing websites myself. How could my clients afford to pay for my Online advertising services and also spend $1,000, $2,000, $5,000 and in some cases $10,000 on a website. The short answer is they couldn’t. This forced me to start building small business websites that were not only beautiful and professional but that converted visitors into phone calls and emails.
Help others get what they want
With a verifiable need in the marketplace for an affordable way for small businesses to get a good-looking website to help them attract more customers, I thought about the perfect business model to match my ideals. How could I help small businesses to get what they wanted? First I had to understand what they wanted in the first place. I found that small businesses are focused on their bottom line and that cash flow is of primary importance, not to shareholders, but to their families. To fulfill this need I would have to create a business model which was affordable with a low monthly cost. The second item that small businesses want is a site they can be proud of. A small business website becomes your online identity. I believe that when someone visits your site it’s as if you were virtually shaking their hand. What kind of impression are you leaving? Is it one that says I’m professional or is it one that says I’m an amateur? With this in mind I made sure to incorporate only the best looking designs that project the right image for small businesses in all industries. Thirdly small businesses are noticing the power of mobile search to the success of their enterprises. hitouchweb designs all have mobile optimized websites to give our clients the upper hand in attracting consumers searching on their mobile phones. Lastly and most importantly, small businesses want more business. Thanks Sherlocke 🙂 It’s so obvious and yet so many business websites are not geared towards converting visitors into customers which should be the primary purpose of your website.
So how do you get what you want? By giving small businesses what they want: An affordable, professional looking, mobile optimized website that converts visitors into customers.
Want an affordable small business website? Check out a website package from HiTouchWeb that works for you.
