We’ve all, at one point or another, landed on a website and found ourselves wondering what to do? Maybe you were looking for a price list, trying to book an appointment, or simply wanted to learn a little more about the business before you booked the appointment; but the navigation was confusing, the buttons weren’t particularly helpful, and you just gave up clicking around hoping to stumble across the right page.
Do users have the same experience on your website?
Your website might look beautiful. Your photography might be gorgeous, your services might be brilliant, and your business might be exactly what someone is looking for; but if visitors can’t work out where to go or what to do next, you could be losing potential customers before they’ve even given you a chance.
A good website doesn’t just tell people who you are and what you do. It helps them find their way around.
1. Give your visitors a clear starting point
Your homepage is often the first interaction someone has with your business. If it’s their second, then someone is looking to confirm what they’ve heard about you from a referral or social media. So your website should help them answer three questions:
- What does this business do?
- Is this relevant to me?
- Where should I go next?
Think about the information someone needs when they first arrive. Can they easily find your services, learn about you, see examples of your work or get in touch? Your main navigation menu should make these destinations easy to find.
You don’t necessarily need all of these, and you might need others depending on your business. The important thing is to organise your pages around what your visitors are looking for, rather than how you think about your business internally.
For example, a florist might instinctively organise their website around their different floral services. But a visitor might be looking for wedding flowers, funeral flowers or a weekly subscription. Making those options easy to find helps visitors get where they want to go.
Your menu can also provide context clues to users about your business or services. Instead of “Services,” your menu item could be titled “Massage Services.” This give immediate context to the visitor.
2. Make your buttons tell people what to do
Buttons are one of the simplest ways to guide visitors through your website, but they need to do more than look pretty. A button should clearly communicate what happens when someone clicks it. Although we inherently love to move around webpages and click on things, we also get fatigued if what we click doesn’t take us somewhere we expect.
Consider the difference between these examples:
| Less helpful | More helpful |
| Learn More | Explore Our Services |
| Click Here | Download the Price List |
| Submit | Request a Quote |
| Find Out More | See Our Recent Projects |
| Contact | Book a Consultation |
The more specific you can be, the better.
Think about what your visitor wants to accomplish and use language that describes that action It’s also worth considering how many different calls to action you’re presenting on a page. If every button is competing for attention, visitors may struggle to decide which one matters most.
Give each page a primary purpose and make its most important next step obvious.
3. Don’t make people hunt for important information
There are certain things visitors shouldn’t have to search too hard to find.
Depending on your business, these might include:
- Your location and service area.
- Your opening hours.
- Your pricing or an indication of your prices.
- How to book or enquire.
- Your contact information.
- What makes your business different.
Consider the questions people ask you most frequently. Are the answers easy to find on your website? If you run a service-based business, for example, someone might want to know whether you work in their area, how much your services cost or how long a project usually takes. If they have to send an email just to find out whether you’re the right fit, you may be creating unnecessary work for both of you.
A well-organised FAQ page, clear service descriptions and useful internal links can make a big difference.
4. Help visitors move from one page to another
Your website shouldn’t feel like a collection of separate pages. Each page should help visitors take another step towards finding what they need.
This is where internal links come in.
An internal link connects one page on your website to another. They help visitors discover relevant information without having to return to the main navigation every time.
For example:
- A blog post about choosing wedding flowers could link to your wedding flower services.
- A portfolio project could link to the service used to complete that project.
- An About page could direct visitors to your services or recent work.
- A service page could link to relevant FAQs or case studies.
Think about the journey someone might take through your website.
If they enjoy reading about a project you’ve completed, where should they go next? If they read a blog post that answers one of their questions, what related information might help them?
Don’t leave visitors at a dead end. Give them a natural next step.
5. Remember that people aren’t only visiting on a computer
It’s easy to spend hours perfecting your website on a desktop computer and forget that many visitors will experience it on a mobile phone. Mobile navigation needs particular attention.
Check that:
- Your navigation menu is easy to open and use.
- Buttons are large enough to tap comfortably.
- Important information isn’t hidden behind awkward layouts.
- Contact details and booking links are easy to access.
- Text is readable without constantly zooming in.
- Forms are straightforward to complete on a smaller screen.
And don’t just look at your mobile website. Actually use it. Try to complete the same tasks your customers would. Can you find your prices? Can you book an appointment? Can you contact me without having to copy and paste an email address?
A website that works beautifully on a desktop but frustrates visitors on mobile isn’t doing its job properly.
6. Put your website to the five-second test
Here’s a little exercise you can try today.
Ask someone who isn’t particularly familiar with your business to open your homepage. Give them five seconds to look around, then ask:
- What do you think this business does?
- Who do you think it is for?
- What would you click on if you wanted to find out more?
You can also ask them to complete a few simple tasks:
- Find your services.
- Find out where you work.
- Find your prices.
- Get in touch.
Watch what they do rather than telling them where to go. If they hesitate, click the wrong thing or struggle to find information, that’s useful feedback.
You don’t need to redesign your entire website. Sometimes a clearer menu label, a more descriptive button or a better-placed link can make a meaningful difference.
Your website should guide, not confuse
A good website experience isn’t necessarily about having the fanciest design or the most complicated features. It’s about helping the right people find the information they need and making it easy for them to take the next step.
Every page should have a purpose. Every button should make sense. And visitors should never have to wonder, “Where should I click?”
So, take a few minutes to explore your own website from your visitor’s perspective.
Is it obvious where to go? Can people find what they’re looking for? And, most importantly, are you making it easy for them to become your next customer?
Because your website has a job to do. Make sure it’s doing it.
Want a second pair of eyes on your website?
Sometimes it’s difficult to spot the things that aren’t working when you’re the person who built the website or looks at it every day. I offer website usability reviews to help independent businesses understand how visitors experience their websites, where they might be getting stuck and what could be improved.
If you’re wondering whether your website is making it easy for people to find you, trust you and get in touch, let’s take a look.
Contact me for a chat or request a free website review, no obligations attached, for my first impression of your business based on your homepage.
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