Move Your Website Visitors Forward

Gerry McGovern writes on the purpose of websites over at Marketing Profs: Daily Fix blog. He explains how the purpose of web navigation is to keep people moving forward. He points out that it should not be focused on where the visitor has been or could have gone.

He uses a driving analogy to explain his point:

Let's say you're out driving. You come to a junction where you are offered a choice between heading to New York or Boston. You take the road to New York. That's a decision you have made. Would you find it useful to be constantly reminded that you can still turn around and head to Boston? Would it be helpful to be reminded of all the places you've passed as you head to New York?

Your job is to understand the primary direction your most important customers are heading, and to remove obstacles in the way of them arriving at that destination.

These points are crucial for the success of your website and yet so many people still are just not getting it. So take a look at your site, reduce the clutter and confusion, and lead your visitors along the path towards the action you want them to take. It's really quite simple. Don't make it complicated.