The Layout of Your Website is Vital to It’s Success

The title of this article may seem like an obvious one but time and time again we see so many websites that just get usability all wrong. This can be for many reasons but a lot of the time it is because the site is either over designed or poorly planned.

Just take a little time now to think about the websites you use the most, for this instance lets look at Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. These three sites are all owned by different people and have completely different looks but they all have very similar layouts. The main navigation of these sites are horizontal and the login areas are top right. Areas of interest such as related videos and adverts are all placed on the right hand side of each site.

This is no coincidence by any means. The three sites are structurally the same because this has proven to be the best way to layout a website. Users invariably read the site starting top left, then moving to the right, then down into the main content and then across to the right again. These three layouts mean that the user gets the best possible experience because everything seems to fall into place naturally.

Ok ok, I hear you saying, “but I want to be different”, this is absolutely fine but lets take one thing into consideration – The three sites I have mentioned all look completely different, so you do not have to look like them at all. The big bonus of laying your website out in the same manner is that users will instantly get your website on their first attempt.

Now lets consider one other thing, how many of your users are regular Youtube, Twitter and Facebook users? I am going to guess quite a lot considering the amount of traffic these websites get. So by getting the layout right, a user who comes to you straight after catching up with their friends on Facebook, will be able to see what you offer quickly, thus increasing your chances of them either contacting you or buying your products.

If you are looking to get a website built or currently have one that you think is under achieving, then take a good look at the layout, taking a special interest in the menus and calls to action. Why should your users look hard for what they want? If they cannot see it quickly, they will most probably leave and use one of your competitors! A fact no online business can ignore.