The Format Every Website Should Follow

Is your website user friendly, identifiable, and succinct?

Creativity among websites is exploding with ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) advancements and increased quality of stock audio/visual elements. As a web designer, formatter, or business owner just trying to figure it out, it's easy to get wrapped in to the oohs and ahhs of it all- and wanting your website to be different. In doing that, we sometimes forget who we are creating the website for and that is the end user.

As an end user (or visitor to the site), most times when we travel to a website we need information and we need it quickly. Sometimes we're in the car, trying to figure out where the place is we need to go next, or need an option when our first one didn't pan out. These are things we need to think about when creating a website for your business. While it may seem obvious and a little boring, that's exactly the point we want to achieve for the end user.

You need a menu bar at the top

Consider a menu bar as the table of contents for your website. It's a directory, and it needs to be "in the beginning of your book", which is the top header of your website. There are different ways to structure the menu itself, which is up for debate on what's best to put first and it depends on the type of business you have. For instance, if you're a shop with a tangible product and have an online shop (which you should), the shopping cart might be the very first item on your menu bar. Typically, menu bars start with an "About Us" page, but it does not have to always be that way. Contacting your company should never be difficult, and far too often it is more difficult than a business realizes. We definitely suggest including a clear way to contact your business in your menu bar (and not just at the bottom of your page).

What your business offers should be obvious at first "site"

The meat and potatoes of what you are and how your business drives income should be readily apparent on your main website page (home and throughout). That's not to say that your business isn't multifaceted, or offer an array of features and services, but there has got to be a baseline of what your business is in business to do. This is why Mymo finds it imperative to know your company mission and how you operate, so you can translate that message very clearly on all channels.

Now you can be specific

After the preliminaries of the important obvious are taken care of, it's time to get specific about yourself as a business. What exact services or products do you offer and how do they differ? Are there any current promotions to take advantage of and when do they end? We suggest placing a temporary "feature" of your website in a designated area, or second to your header/introduction area to not over crowd new visitors.

What are your company values, and what does your company invest in most? Many websites accomplish this through an "About Us" page and/or a company blog. Not sure what your company blog would be about? We recently wrote about that and you can check it out here.

Have a lot to your website, keep people there- but for the love of everything good make sure it has and end, too.

People get overwhelmed with websites that just keep going and going and scrolling on and on. Unless you run some sort of open journal content wheel organized chronologically (like many magazine sites), your website needs a definitive ending point. Going full circle, this ties back into your menu bar at the top. Essentially, the end of your site is when a visitor has seen every page from top to bottom from your menu bar, and eventually runs across a page they've already recognizably seen. From there, they are led to make a decision as to what role your business will play in their lives. Maybe they bookmark your site for reference or future decision, maybe they subscribe to your email list and blog, or maybe they execute the decision to contact you directly from your website. If you never give the visitor the option to make a decision, they never will.

It's important to understand the necessity of web design & how to remain unique to your business. While design can vary dramatically, the format needs to be user friendly, identifiable, and succinct. If nothing else, make sure your mission is clear on your website and contacting you is easy.