Start with a 5-point confirmation of your site's goals to make your site "worth clicking"

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You may have good content to share with your site visitors, but if you don't help them find them, they don't exist. This article will help you plan your site's layout, structure, navigation and wording to make your site content more interesting, reduce clutter, and have more click value.

What does "worth clicking" mean? In addition to the general sense of "worth clicking and browsing/reading", it also means that users can quickly find the information you want them to find and take the action you want them to take.

1. Start by confirming your site's goals

Before you start making a website or even opening PS, please stop and ask yourself: what is the goal of this site?

For example:

Do you want to increase the sale of the product of the shop?

Do you want people to make an appointment?

Do you want your content to attract more readers?

If there are three different owners of these different goals, they should build three different types of Web sites. The layout, content, structure, and even technology they choose for the site should be different.

When you've found your overall goal, look at more and deeper questions like the one listed in the following list. I repeat here, before you come up with the answers to these important questions, don't start doing your website, looking for a set theme or a layout box or something. Note that the following different answers to the mock questions can greatly alter the design of a website:

Simulation Question 1: If my visitors can do one thing when they visit my site and can only do it, what do I want them to do?

Simulation Answer A:

-I want them to find a product in a large directory and then buy that product.

Compare Answer B:

-I hope people can make an appointment to see me. Once they come to my office, sales are almost certain.

Simulation Question 2: How can I help my visitors do that thing?

Simulation Answer A:

-My store has 300 kinds of products, I want to divide them into different categories and allow users to filter the types of products they are looking for.

-I'm going to set up a search bar in a very obvious place.

-I'm going to put my shopping cart where it's easy to find.

-I'm going to cover the product category on my home page.

-I want my visitors not to give priority attention to talking about my company's web design, and not to ignore them all.

Compare Answer B:

-My homepage should have a clear call to click on "Obvious Location"

-I will ask people to fill out the booking form on every page of my site without impeding or preventing them from continuing to browse the site's pop-up window or interfering elements.

-I'll make sure my booking form is not too long, so people won't be deterred from filling out the form.

-I will describe my service in detail with a well written web page, and I can explain it immediately to anyone who has any problems. That way, I can rule out any reason not to fill out my booking form.

-I will build a service before and after the photo gallery so people will see it and they will find that by contacting me they can also get the same result.

Simulation Question 3: When my visitors log on to my site, how do I let them know where they "are" and "what to Do" and "why should they be concerned about my Site"?

Simulation Answer A:

-I'm going to have a brand slogan underneath my logo that exactly shows what I'm selling. Don't show off or flaunt the slogan, use puns, or contain words that only make sense to me. It's going to be special, and it'll even get rid of the people who don't want my product.

-My navigation labels will be compiled by product category name, so people will know what they are looking for in my store.

Compare Answer B:

-I'm going to put a verb-oriented introductory title on the top of my homepage, followed by a short trailer explaining what people would get if I filled out a reservation form.

-I will use powerful photography and video to show my credibility and show what I can do to help people.

Simulation Question 4: Can I answer these questions in a word?

Simulation Answer A:

-Pendant Store-X pendant, y pendant and z pendant, free shipping!

Compare Answer B:

-"Now scheduled to get x pendant is absolutely free, I will attach a y pendant!"

-Space is limited, but you will not regret making this reservation because you will get ___ and will change your life by improving ____________.

Of course, the above is only a sample, but also an oversimplified sample. Before starting a website design, ask a few questions. To really achieve your site goals, you need to focus on other things, like your copywriting. This is also the next issue we need to discuss.

2. Use clear, clear copy

Copywriting headlines are critical to the success of the site. To make sure that your title, navigation tag, or even your body content is clear enough, the best way to do this is to ask yourself: In another context, could your words mean something else? If possible, then it means you're too vague.

Continue this idea and ask yourself: "Does a 15-year-old understand what I do or sell?" If someone landed on my site and he knew nothing about the industry, would they buy it if I only used words like ' innovation ', ' diversity ', ' strategy ' or ' industry '?

The "industry" includes countless companies and deals. "Innovation" and "strategy" are the words of excessive hype, no longer have any meaning. All good companies have strategies, so they are "strategic". You know what I'm talking about?

Take a real example and see how the company is described in Google's Cue message window (from Wikipedia):

　　

(Part of the text on the picture: Ingersoll Rand Inc. is a global diversified industry company in Ireland, founded in 1871.) The name of Ingersoll-Rand (Ingersoll) was started in 1905, in conjunction with Ingersoll Sergeant Drill and Randdrill. -Wikipedia)

If you have never heard of this company before, this explanation is not helping you to understand what they are doing. What you will learn is that they are Irish and they operate globally. And once they had something to do with drilling. It is not clear that they are operating drilling or selling drill bits. Are they okay? But, hey, we know they are "industrial" and "pluralistic".

Visiting their websites is also not much help. The first thing you see is a headline logo that says "an innovative century".

　　

The logo will disappear quickly, but you still don't know what the company is, or why you should pay attention to it, let alone who should pay attention to it.

After the "innovation" title disappears, users will see a picture of a man holding a tablet in a big city. This occupies a large part of the "obvious position" on the home page.

　　

So, are they a technology company?

We still don't know what the company does.

The top navigation says "Find us", "Join us", "investor", "product".

Well, let's try to see what's underneath the product?

　　

"Auto Club Car", "Ingersoll Rand", "Thermo King" and "Ingersoll (Trane)".

Alas。 All right. Let's try to digest these things.

"Car Club"-Is this a car service? Or are you selling cars?

"Ingersoll Rand" is not the name of the company? or is it a product name now?

"Thermo King" sounds like a warm mattress.

"Trane"-this is a spelling error. Is it?

Exits the navigation menu. Let's take a look at what's written underneath that big picture.

"About Us

Help | build | deliver | roll

Ingersoll Rand, you're really confusing us now. How did you do it to help the visitors? Are we back on the mattress now? What do you build? What do you deliver, to whom? Are you similar to UPS? Scrolling "What's going on?"

tags do not help here.

We just got to know its logo. We have finished this website. It's time to leave.

In this example, we see that for unskilled users, the label, title, and product photos may be just a starting point when making related pages. The site may be made only by in-house employees and managers, not as a major audience for new customers.

However, to avoid becoming a UI-speaking article, we will stop here and return to our original point:

Make sure you know very well that you are using words, not just photos or design ideas to sell products. Do not rely on user awareness of your brand. They may never have heard of your brand.

Especially for startups, when your product or service is an emerging trend, or if you are a new player in the existing market, it is important to express that clearly. Compare the homepage of two different companies that sell almost the same product. The homepage of a company makes you think there is no doubt about what they sell, while another company's homepage makes you feel that they are selling "elegance":

　　

　　

Which company do you prefer to buy from? Are companies that describe their products and tell you the advantages of the product, or use the word "elegance" and try to sell something that looks like an interior design?

3. Use verbs, a large number of verbs

One of the best examples of excellent sales-oriented copywriting I can think of is on the 23andme website (personal genetic testing site).

Many of their headings start with a verb, asking the user to "do" something. Also, each page calls the user to act with the obvious buttons, asking the user to "book Now," which is also an action-oriented verb.

This reduces the passivity of the user. Even if the layout of the site attracts your eyeballs to their call to action, they are also particularly clear about what the site intends to do and what the company wants them to do. (The rest of the 23andme site information is secondary, but it is there if the user wants to know.) There is no doubt that the main purpose of this site is to get people to order a DNA test kit.

This seems obvious, but you will be surprised if you know that many companies are so easy to forget their website goals in the rhetoric and the pursuit of design. The user will not have a target and a roadmap to follow.

The 23andme homepage is guided by this philosophy, and it follows all the "rules" we have mentioned above. Let's take a look at the red box that illustrates the verb usage in the screenshot below:

　　

Note the brand slogan shown in the top title of the site, which describes what the company does and what it provides (see rule 2nd above). Introductory headings tell users what they can get from them. In addition, the site does not always talk about how "innovative" the company is, but focuses on the interests of the user. It asks people to do something simple: order now. And then it keeps giving more reasons to go out and do it, like:

　　

Another place to use a lot of verbs is in your navigation menu. Many articles on navigation menu suggestions will tell you not to change the name of the Web page Convention. This is true, but if you keep using clear and obvious expressions, you can still take advantage of the verb navigation menu.

The first site to inspire me to do this is biblesforamerica.org. I understand that this site has been accepted for more than a year of planning and in-depth research. One of the most fascinating projects for me is the use of verbs in the dominant navigation menu, which makes every clickable item a call to action:

　　

The important thing to note is that this navigation menu uses a double-decker. The second layer of text further explains what the user can find under each verb. In this case, only the main navigation bar, no additional text, the Operation menu will not work.

For example, if the verb "access" is a separate link, the user will ask: "Visit? Do you want me to visit your office?" But the second line clearly shows that the "visit" Place is a blog.

Sometimes a single word link without a second line of instructions can work, but if the verb next to it is not sufficiently strong or too vague, it may cause confusion. Look at the following example of this museum's website:

　　

Here, when using the verb "visit" (visit), there is no doubt that the site is inviting visitors to the museum. And we all know that museums are an educational place to attract face-to-face visits.

However, if there is no description of the second line, the menu becomes cluttered by using the verb "explore" alone. "The Discovery Museum? No, isn't that why I want to visit the museum? Do you want us to do the same thing two times?" Users need further investigation to know what "exploration" means.

4. Use the established Web site layout to showcase your strengths

The subtitle of this section can be "don't fashion for the sake of appearing fashionable". In other words, stick to the traditional site layout unless you really know what you're doing. If you don't have a course in user interface design, the safest way to do this is to comply with the specification, since the specification has proven to be more useful to users.

Don't try to look different by putting your navigation menu at the bottom of your home page or by making the menu disappear on some pages. Don't try to put your logo in the upper-right corner instead of the top left. Don't remove your sidebar if you don't know enough about typography (more than the character limit for each line that leads to inattention). In short: Don't step out of the "safe zone" of traditional web design.

Remember, your layout should not be designed to satisfy you. It is used to make your users as easy as possible to find what they are looking for and take the action you want them to take. Users don't have much energy, attention and time to focus on how to use the new "fashion" layout.

One of the sites that I'm confused about is kgms.ca. When you find that the right-hand box is the main navigation menu of the site, click on one of its items and you will scroll to a new section that appears to appear to be a single-page site;

　　

(Small series of friendship tip: Italic Part in fact, you can quickly jump over ...) At this level, you'll get another menu at the top, but it's not a top-level menu; it's a submenu. If you click on one of the submenus that originally should be the top-level menu, you will go to the new page.

If you want to go home from here, then you can't get to the homepage, at least with any visible "home" button or link to the homepage. The logo on the top left has disappeared, so it is impossible because there is "doubt" about the arrival of the homepage.

The only thing you can try to do to get home from here is to scroll up or down. If you scroll up, you will be taken to an area that looks like a homepage, but it is not. Its URL is obviously a child page. If you click another link on the side menu, you will get to a new URL and the text will appear. It's really great, but a big photo will slide from the left and you don't know where your text is.

If you don't understand the above, you will know how I felt when I opened it. (Understand why the small part of the above hint?)

The point is, you mustn't do such a thing yourself. Yes, perhaps you have shown that you have the ability to do a website, and of course, is very beautiful. But ask yourself: "Very beautiful" design and overuse of "cool" technology, and let the user confusion compared to the worth?

Can you sometimes "break the routine"? Sure, but first you need to know what you're doing. Also, keep track of your site goals (rule 1th above). For example, the Moz.com Web site is new and stylish, but will not cause confusion. Each page on their site introduces a new layout that helps highlight the content. But top navigation remains in a fixed position to help users easily reach another page from one page (except in the blog area, because sometimes it forces the user to use the browser's Back button).

5. Do not try to copy other people's pages

I was puzzled when I confronted a client who had made (or even insisted) an idea because the competitor had done it, because the decision was not based on any research or internet marketing principles. Your competitors may not be deliberately designed, or get more clicks, they are likely to be "improvisation."

This is not inconsistent with the 4th rule. This does not refer to the site specification. If your opponent, or a big brand, adheres to the site's specifications and is effective for them, you should do the same. But that doesn't mean you have to "replicate".

What you shouldn't do is, when you don't understand how these web designs and layouts work, why it's being put there, and what other solutions can achieve your site's goals, just because you see it on another site, you copy a layout or feature (see Rule 1th above).

For example, don't try to use a Starbucks-like navigation menu just because you think it's a big company. Can you tell what's wrong with their current navigation menu?

　　

This navigation menu uses two rows, but the second row tries to squeeze in three separate subheadings, "put together the confusing words as if they were part of a sentence." "It's not the way you use the two-line menu!"

For example, the label "Café (Coffeehouse)" itself is confusing because there are apparently no cafés on the site (unless Starbucks has found a way to provide coffee in virtual form). Users must rely on the second line in the Navigation tab to understand what a "café" means. What can users get? " Musical Wi-Fi community (music Wi-Fi Community) ".

Oh, interesting. Starbucks has a "music Wi-Fi community". Is it the place where we talk about music over the internet on their website? Or is it a new social network?

No, not at all. If you look at other menu tags, you'll see that they're trying to list three different words and do poorly. If your mouse hovers over the label, you will see a pop-up "big menu" that is separated into different subregions of their site. Typically, large menus can help large web sites organize content for users in a centralized location.

　　

However, the big menu needs to be done with some simple tags and a new organization. These areas do not use the word "music" as in the second line of labels. In addition, none of these sub sections can see how the word "café" is related. That part of the story is about what happened in their café? But if so, why would you say "online community"? And why do they publish mobile apps in this part?

This website design may have surpassed its original goal. You should try to extend its virtual life with content updates. If you replicate this "big brand" now, your site strategy will not be completed as scheduled. It's best to stick to the popular practice of hiring actual content architects, Web marketers, and user interface designers to help you do it.

Finally, what have we learned?

If you want to make your site more worthwhile to click on, you need to:

A as a first step, first identify your goals:

Ask yourself the right questions before you start the design.

Ask yourself how you are going to achieve your goals and what strategies are best for your goals.

(B) Use of appropriate copywriting:

Highlight features in your writing. Use words that anyone can understand to make sure that your copy is not ambiguous, and that you can explain exactly what you are doing, what you can offer, and why people should be concerned about you.

When you're writing a copy of your website, start with someone who hasn't heard of your company before.

Avoid using "meaningless" words and words that can be used by almost anyone in any situation. In other words, you can say things like "strategy" and "innovation" when we sell X to people who love Y.

Use verbs and action-oriented phrases. As long as your language is concise and there is plenty of room, you can do so in your navigation menu.

C use common sense in your design and layout decisions:

If you are not a user interface designer, don't try to pursue the "fashion" layout. Stick to the tradition of people's habits;

Don't try to replicate competitors or "big brands" just because you think "they'll know what they're doing". Doing so you may be duplicating a wrong or outdated strategy. Adhere to your website goals and solicit professional advice for your unique website needs.

Do you have anything else to add? How do you make your site worth clicking? Tell your story!

(Editor: Via:entrepreneur, the state of entrepreneurship.) Entrepreneur content authorizes the exclusive cooperation of the pioneering state, do not reprint without permission. )