Planning your website layout.
Planning your website layout before you start to populate can save you considerable time. There are many aspects of the layout and content that can help you convert your website traffic into goals.
[Skip this explanation and go to the top tips guide for laying out my website]
Goal Paths
Often the simplest way to plan your website layout is by first establishing what you want your website to achieve. Websites can be used for a variety of reasons; therefore it is possible to have more than one goal.
If you are selling goods or services the ultimate goal is to make a sale, either by selling directly online or by having a visitor submit an enquiry form.
For example:
The goals for this website are as follows:
To sell web solutions
We have set a simple seven-step goal path to maximise the chance of achieving this goal. Firstly the visitor chooses the type of web solution theyt require, in this instance an online store or an intelligent website. They are then presented with the products features, encouraged to intuitively move on to the type of set-up they require and so on, until they have been given all the information needed to make an informed, decision and ultimately the opportunity to make a purchase.
To sell additional services
The goal path for our additional services such as banner design is shorter than the goal path for the web solutions because the process is simplified as choosing a website is a more significant decision than deciding whether to have a few banners designed. The visitor is given all the information (including prices) to be able to make a decision and add the product to their basket if they want to.
To provide an information-rich resource for our customers
This goal path is less defined, however, each web page links to other web pages of similar content offering the visitor the choice to read more about a specific subject . Equally there is a glossary of terms, so for example, if you hover your mouse over the word ‘goal path’ anywhere on this website, the word will turn magenta and if clicked will link to the definition of a goal path.
The words used in the goal path to selling a website do not contain any links that would take the visitor away from the desired path.
Defining your goal paths
Goals are much easier to achieve if you have an intuitive goal path. In other words, your website visitors should be encouraged to follow a simple and intuitive path through your website until they reach your defined goals.
Create an intuitive flow through your website
One of the simplest ways to lead your visitors to a goal is to include ‘next’ buttons or links. The visitor is far more likely to follow a goal path if there is a button or link showing them the way.
Avoid distraction
Try to avoid distraction from the goal path, for example, having unrelated advertising banners or multiple choice options that could lead visitors away from the desired path.
Keep your goal path content to the point
One of the hardest elements of website planning is getting the balance of information right. Too much information and the reader will get bored, too little and they won’t feel that they have enough information to make a decision. A way to resolve this is to factor in additional information as part of the goal path.
For example:
The features and benefits page of this website shows the features and benefits of our solutions summarised in a few images. If the customer wants to know more, they click on the image and another images pops up with a greater explanation. This allows us to keep the immediate word count low and therefore not bombard the visitor with information unless they specifically want to know it. For other features and benefits the customer can click on a link that takes them to a longer, more comprehensive list. The important thing about this longer list is that it is still restricted to the goal path. In other words, despite taking a detour from the most direct route to the goal this additional web page is only accessible from the previous web page, and only leads on to what would have been the next web page along the goal path.
Look at it from your visitor’s point of view.
The easiest way to define a goal path is to consider yourself as the targeted visitor. As the visitor, what information would you need to help you reach the goal?
[To read more about how to define your goals and identifying your target market click here]
Preparing your website content
Once you have defined your goals and the logical goal paths you’ll need to write the content. Often simply sketching a web page by hand can help you visualise the layout and make the process seamless. Outline where you want to position any images or videos etc, and have them to hand before you start.
If the text is being copied and pasted from another source, for example, your old website or MS Word, it is likely that you will also be copying over the fonts. Consequently, it's worth pasting any text into a program like Adobe Dreamweaver or even MS Notepad to strip out the unwanted font styles before you paste it into your website.
Mistore websites come with a predefined set of fonts that you will see when choosing a template, or can choose when having a bespoke website designed. Although you can change the fonts in the page editor, it is often distracting or can detract from the look of the website if to many different fonts are used.
We have written a few guides on how best to write website content, but in principle you should only look to write the content once you have established your goals, including your target market.
[For more information on content writing see our planning website content page.]
Quick links
Once you have defined the number of web pages and the content that needs writing you can decide which content pages would be best made available as quick links. Quick links are the links typically found in the header section of a website. Choose links that you feel will either be of most benefit to your visitors or of most benefit to you (but still of interest to the visitor).
For example:
The quick links on this website are written in white on the uppermost part of this web page:
- Home
- Mistore additions
- Planning guides
- Webite top tips
- Testimonials
- Contact us
Quick link suggestions
If you are unsure about which links to use, the following quick link suggestions might help.
- Home
- Testimonials
- About us
- Contact us
- Services
Meta tags
Meta tags are read by search engines to help identify the content of your web pages
For more information about writing meta tags click here:
By having all this information decided before you start populating each web page, you’ll find the process much easier.
Additional website planning guides
You might find some of the following guides useful before you start to populate your website.
Planning the website content
This is a short guide about how to write great content and making the most out of how search engines and your visitors view your website. [Tell me more about planning my website content]
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
This is a short guide about the do’s and don’ts of website planning to help optimise your website. [Tell me more about search engine optimisation]
SMART website investment
websites should be seen as an investment which should yield a return, the following guide is about applying the principles of the other guides in to a SMART plan to make sure that your website doesn’t just become a cost but a sales and marketing tool that makes a difference. [Tell me more about SMART website investment]
Writing meta tags to help optimise your website
The main function of meta tags is to help the search engines understand your website. Meta tags are important for search engine optimisation (SEO) and add a visual title to the web page. Every web page has it's own set of meta tags and a default setting can be created where none have been assigned [tell me more about meta tags]
