April 24, 2024

7 Ways To Improve eCommerce Website Navigation

Nadya Bakhur

Researcher, Technical Writer

Web

Website navigation best practices

Nadya Bakhur

Researcher, Technical Writer

Web

Website navigation best practices

Convenient ecommerce website navigation design helps customers find products easily and quickly. Good navigation enhances online shopping and helps merchants increase sales and profits.

Below you’ll find 7 recommendations on how to make your ecommerce website easy to navigate.

Types Of Website Navigation

The navigation of a website is the main criterion for its convenience. The combination of certain parameters affects its conversion, the number of completed targeted actions, and the number of abandoned carts. Navigation is responsible for transitions between different sections, sorting of goods, information about them, and assistance in placing an order.

You can compare it to going to the mall: if you can understand all the signage and store layout, you will most likely want to stay there and buy something.

When users first open your ecommerce website, they do not know where to find the goods they need or how to make a purchase. If they don’t understand it in the first seconds, they will rather go to competitors, where they will be able to satisfy their needs faster. Therefore, it makes sense to work on the quality of navigation to increase sales and not lose customers.

Navigation helps visitors find the right products or information. A convenient site navigation system also helps users with the following:

  • Understand what the online store offers;
  • See your current location on the site;
  • Go to previously viewed pages and products;
  • Get more information about the company.

The key types of navigation for websites include:

Global (links that are available from any page of the site);

Main (links from the main page or main menu);

Thematic (links to pages of similar topics);

Textual (internal linking);

Linguistic (for switching between language versions of the site);

Advertising (banners and blocks).

From the point of view of design development, site navigation can be:

  1. Horizontal – at the top of the page;
  2. Vertical – sidebar, usually on the left;
  3. “Hamburger” (menu categories open when you hover over a special icon in the form of 3 horizontal stripes).

Any of the types of website navigation can be implemented in the following ways:

  • Classic textual;
  • Graphical (pictures and icons are used for menu buttons);
  • HTML navigation (links are displayed on the user’s screen when he hovers over the root folder);
  • Java and flash navigation (complements HTML navigation with various visual effects).

7 Website Navigation Best Practices

Ecommerce website navigation improvement: check principal product categories, divide similar categories, use interactive images, apply cross-selling and upselling techniques.

How to make website navigation user-friendly? The experts of our ecommerce website design company have put together 7 best practices for website navigation to make it easier for visitors to find and buy products.

Pay attention to principal product categories

Almost all online stores make one mistake – they tie secondary products to the principal categories. As a result, there is a lot of confusion for new website visitors when navigating a website. For example, a user is looking for a tablet that is in the “Computers” category. It can be difficult for a person to guess in which category the necessary product is located.

Another common mistake from the same area is the poor connection of secondary categories with the main ones. It is easy to identify this drawback: when choosing a product, the user cannot return to the principal section and is forced to go back to the home page. Not very convenient, right?

Divide similar categories

To make it easier for the customers to identify product categories, you have to sort them correctly when creating a menu for your website. For example, a user is looking for a cartridge for an office printer, which differs in parameters from a simple one used at home. In this case, it is better to divide the category “cartridges” into two – “cartridges for home printers” and “cartridges for the office”, placing them in one big category called “Products for printers”.

Add the “Already viewed” list

You need to create this section with one purpose – to help the buyer choose the most suitable product. It would be useful to add such a tab that will allow the buyer to return to previously viewed products.

Add a “New arrivals” category

Analyzing the experience of our ecommerce development company, we can conclude that the presence of this category has a positive effect on both the attendance of the online store and the number of sales. Regular customers are always interested in new products and, you see, it is easier to do this if your ecommerce website menu has a “new products” tab.

Future buyers can evaluate new arrivals, take a closer look at them or advise them to friends. As a result, interest in the site, its attendance, as well as the relevance of the online store increase.

Apply cross-selling and upselling techniques

Cross-selling is a store recommendation to buy an additional product to the purchased main one.

Upselling is an offer of a similar product with improved characteristics of another brand or model. As a result, the buyer has a wide field of choice. The practice has shown that increased supply creates increased demand. By adding a simple upselling and cross-selling feature, you can significantly increase the number of sales of additional products.

Add the compound goods functions

In terms of its purpose, the function of compound goods is almost no different from the aforementioned upsell. However, there is still a difference between them. The function of compound goods is to advise the buyer to purchase a product that will help improve the quality or characteristics of the main one. With this feature, customers will quickly find additional products and buy them.

Use interactive images

To advertise a product and make it easier to search through the website menus, it is better to use interactive images in the form of specially installed software on the site. With the help of this program, users will be able not only to examine the product in detail but also to try it out in real-time.

What ecommerce website navigation should be?

The main characteristics of convenient and understandable navigation include:

  • Availability. This refers to a well-developed navigation system not only on the main page of the online store but also on secondary ones;
  • Clarity or intuitive interface;
  • Thoughtful design that takes into account the behaviour of buyers on the site on different devices.

As experienced ecommerce solutions providers, we can advise you to pay attention not only to the ways to increase sales while improving the navigation of your online store but also to taking care of your customers. Remember that your main goal is to help customers meet their needs and make the buying process as quick and convenient as possible.

Final Words

The site navigation system should be logically thought out and well-coordinated – then it will become a powerful tool for increasing the conversion of the online store.

If you don’t know what types of menus to include, how to organize the products in the categories, or simply need quality ecommerce website development services – why not contact NEKLO? Just fill in the form on our website – and let’s team up!