What is the site structure?
This term means the logical scheme according to which it is set up, how the individual pages are linked to each other. The structure of a site is intended to make it easier for users to navigate through the site’s content.
Why good website structure is crucial?
The site structure directly influences two important components of a site’s success: high user-friendliness and easy search engine crawling.
If your site’s structure is simple and intuitive, the user will easily find what he is looking for (and that increases the chances that he will turn into your regular customer), and it will be easier for search engines to analyze your site, which will have a positive effect on its ranking.
So, you want to build your site, and you are ready to use a website builder (in fact, today it is the easier, faster, and most inexpensive way to get a website done), but you do not know exactly how the perfect structure should look like?
Then, don’t bother: pick up any professional site templates and make a website with Weblium website builder!
All Weblium templates are developed based on an in-depth study of the world’s top niche sites, taking the latest web design trends into account. Therefore, any of these templates have the perfect structure.
Tips for a good website structure
To make it more clear, we will take the professional Handyman website template by Weblium as an example – and you will see how thoughtful and user-friendly all Weblium templates are).
1. Remember about your customer’s satisfaction
A good site structure gives the visitor what he wants as clearly and quickly, as possible.
Think about what people that visit your website are looking for, what is most important to them, how these pages are linked to each other?
Keep in mind that the human brain primarily focuses more on the top (pr bottom) of a list, so try to place the crucial/helpful info in the website’s header and add some of it in the footer.
On the “Handyman services” website, the most important information is placed in the website header (menu, logo, contacts, “Book now” CTA button. Below that, you see a full-size high-quality photo with a short description of services and other important CTA buttons)
2. Create responsive navigation
Responsive design is the best way to make your site look perfect on any device.
“Handyman services”, like all other professional Weblium templates, have a mobile-first design, so they look great and work flawlessly on all existing devices.
3. Follow the 3-click rule
This means that no important page should be located more than three clicks away from the site’s home page.
But this is not a universal, strict rule: in many situations, a “3-click” website structure is not appropriate or necessary.
Creating the “Handyman services” template, we have taken this rule into account: using the concise menu in the header, you are always just one click away from any website section you want to explore!
4. Add a site map
Adding a site map is always a good idea, ‘cause it contains links to all existing pages on the website.
Use the site map in XML format for the search engines and the custom sitemap that displays the site sections sir the users.
The page with the site map should be 1-click away from the main page.
On the “Handyman services” website, the sitemap is located in the site’s footer, along with the logo and social buttons.
5. Create a website menu for a one-pager
If you have a landing page and it has a lot of information, add a menu with links to the website’s sections – this will simplify the navigation.
Our “Handyman services” website is also a one-pager. The menu in the header helps the user to understand what sections are there on the site and immediately switch to the one he needs to check out first.
6. Make your website menu concise
When creating a menu, try to use no more than 4-5 items or use the hamburger menu.
7. Link your logo to the main page
There are two main reasons to do this:
- nearly all users need to go back to the home page (they may be lost, and want to start all over again);
- when users come from the search results, they often find themselves on some of your internal webpages bypassing the main page. Make it easier for them to use the logo to go to the main page, where they can quickly find what they need.
A visible logo on the left in the header and footer of the “Handyman services” site is linked to the main page of the site.
8. Highlighted the buttons with more important actions
Usually, the first button on the page is the target action button (for example? “Sign up for an event”, “Buy a course”, “Attend the first lesson for free”). The second button is less important (in most cases, it is linked to a website section containing the additional information (“More”, “About us”, “How it works”).
The simplest way to highlight the button is to use a bright, contrasting color for its background.
Pay attention to the “Request a quote” and “Learn more” CTA buttons on the first screen of the template. The background of the “Request a quote” button is highlighted in red, as it is important for obtaining customer contacts.
9. Pop-ups
Many designers experiment with popup/slide forms because the element, that suddenly appears on the screen always grabs visitors’ attention and inspire him to take action.
The updated Weblium functionality allows you to create popups and customize them to your liking (new, advanced popup customization options will be available very soon!).
10. Make sure that there is no “dead end” at the end of the page
Don’t disappoint the user who made it to the bottom of the page!
At a minimum, provide an opportunity to quickly return to the top of the page, or go to any section he might be interested in.
“Handyman” website has a lead capture form and a sitemap in the footer.
11. Set a friendly URL for the page
Section titles help the user navigate the site and have a positive effect on the relevance of the page.
The friendly URLs are easy to read and to understand.
For example, if your one-pager has many sections, it is better to use anchor links with clear names, such as #about or #contacts, as they also appear in the address bar.
If you switch between sections of the “Handyman services” site, you will see that the page addresses are designed according to this principle.
Also, Weblium presents the new “Site Statistics” feature, that allows you to easily and thoroughly analyze the number of page views, unique website visitors, and applications.
Using this data, you can increase the efficiency of your website!
