The most successful websites are those where users can easily move around with the least amount of effort. Being able to find what you want literally at the tips of your fingers on the keypad is what a user wants. This means that effective College Station web design must concentrate on providing a smooth, seamless experience that requires little thought – a good website designer must be two steps ahead of the user.

Search vs. Navigation – Is One Better Than The Other?

A search function is a “must have” element that is great – when it works. Getting it to work efficiently is sometimes a challenge. Research interestingly shows that in many cases, better navigation wins over a search function. It really depends upon the website, the company, and the audience; however, putting more effort into effective navigation is definitely worth considering in the best web design in College Station TX.

Invisible Problems with Search

In order for a search function to be useful, it must be programmed during the web design stage to know what users will likely search for – or they will get no results. Misspellings and typos must be assumed, so the goal when configuring an effective search function is to plan for those errors, although it is impossible to plan for all. Anything that brings a user to a blank page increases frustration, as it requires time and effort to type in a search. After a few failed tries, the desire to find what they were searching for diminishes – and users will leave the page.

Besides the issue of incorrect spelling, a searcher must know what they want. Big websites with more available options of a similar nature are less likely to yield a good result. Unless a person goes to a website with a specific term, brand, or product name in mind, they often wind up something different than what was originally wanted. Conversely, using a term that is too restrictive can lead to no results and more tries with a different word.

How Navigation Trumps Search

Creating College Station web design with an effective navigational menu is an art, something that requires understanding a company and its customers. The right menu can direct a customer to the right place more easily than search can. This requires a menu with layers that are appropriately categorized and labeled, making it easier for users to follow the arrows in a line of choices rather than trying to guess the right, recognizable search term. The fact that this is done using clicks or touches rather than typing is favorable, as it is faster.

The best web design in College Station TX is seen on websites where many different products are sold, providing customers an easy path right from the beginning to choose their direction level by level. Even if a user reaches a an unfamiliar point about a product or topic, some results are still shown. Eventually, users will find what they seek, rather than reaching a “no results” page for searching by the wrong term.

Every website and audience is different, as are searching habits. A good search function is a vital part of every website – just not the only necessary thing. The best College Station web design must consider that better results may be achieved with a well-categorized, tiered navigational menu that can guide viewers to the right place with less guesswork involved!

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