As marketing strategists & web developers, we think very deeply about site navigation.
After all, navigation is what guides a viewer’s attention:
- Where do you want the viewer to go?
- How are they supposed to access information they are trying to find?
- Most importantly, how do you use menu item titles to position the brand / business in a specific way?
On the DL
I’m testing a no-nav website concept on this website. Tracking analytics too. Let’s see if it works!
Scary thought, but you start to think about your viewer’s journey through the site.
Think about it for a second… If you remove all the navigation menus on a site, you’re effectively forcing audiences to follow along a predefined pathway.
Keys need locks which need doors. When you walk through a doorway, people subconsciously alter their mind for each room.
Navigations menu areas use the same psychology.
Without nav links, you’ll need to guide viewers through the website via buttons or links sparsely scattered throughout the page. These links will either need to be in prominent locations or really stand out – otherwise people might miss them entirely.
There’s another catch… too many links and the viewer won’t know what to click on. Too little links and you’re limiting yourself on where you want viewers to go.
It becomes a deep & introspective exercise in really understanding your audience.
Who is the target audience and how will they use the website?
This will define just how far you can go with a no navigation website. Some audiences are willing to spend a couple extra minutes looking around, while others might be a bit more no-fuss.
For ultra tech savvy audiences, you could also incorporate UI / UX elements to “hidden” content or special sections on your website.
Why are they coming to your website?
This is more of a psychological game, but understanding audience intent lets you create more intuitive predefined pathways to information.
This becomes essential to reduce visitor confusion / frustration while they traverse your website.
What are you (website owner) looking to accomplish?
Really understanding your goals, allows for tuning up the messaging strategy (specifically voice); Since each page click deeper is exponentially more valuable – you’ll want your messaging to naturally shift into a call to action.
Benefit: You’ll build trust by psychologically “encouraging” viewer participation through link clicks.
If the information + audience is like a spotlight on a stage member, website visitors will WANT to click to the next page.
Each click builds loyalty.
Prime each viewer enough and you can lead them directly to an offer page.
Boom!
Bottom Line: Websites just don’t need to function the same way.
By taking a break from traditional consumption habits, you’ll make visitor spend a couple extra minutes on your website… As long as you conform to some semblance of good website user experience design.
Otherwise, you’ll have righteously pissed off visitors that’ll make your bounce rate look like straight A student report card.
