Organized to Attract: Why Organizing Your Site is a Traffic Turn On

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As businesses grow and expand, so do their websites. Unfortunately, many webmasters confuse content with clutter. Growth and expansion is a good thing as long as it’s managed and controlled. But site managers often let themselves get carried away with the notion that bigger is better. What they fail to realize is that when it comes to websites, they are better off adhering to a different motto—less is more!

Coming from the storage industry, I am often intrigued but rarely surprised by what I see when storage unit doors are opened up. The biggest turn-off is a unit which has been cluttered to the point of becoming a chaotic disorganized mess. And this is exactly the same feeling I get whenever I go online and look at certain websites. It seems as if some site managers are more focused on filling the site with reams of content than in making that content pleasurable to read. A disorganized site that is difficult to read and difficult to navigate is likely to also be difficult to draw traffic to. A little tidying up is all it takes but it has to be done the right way. Here are a few tips that can help you inject some organization into your website and avoid that cluttered look:

1. Divide the content into categories. It can be tempting to try to cram all of your content onto a single page. Some site managers even fool themselves into thinking that the home page is where they need to showcase everything their business has to offer. But in most cases it’s easier and much more sensible to break up the content into shorter, more well-defined sections. Each section could represent a category of product or service your company offers its customers. Typically, each category would have its own page with small pictures of each product or service within that category along with a brief description. You may want to allow the picture to be clicked on to reach a sub-page focused on the specific product. But don’t get carried away with sub-pages! Remember that every page on your site should be reachable within three clicks of the home page. It’s also a good idea to allow the user to take action on every page (e.g., by clicking on a "buy now" button to add a product to the cart).

2. Let the pages breathe. Make it easy for readers to look at your pages and enjoy them. Remember that the human eye needs a place to rest. Avoid cramming the pages with large chunks of text. Instead, mix in plenty of white space so that the words, pictures, lines, and colors don’t go crashing into each other. And speaking of pictures, make sure you use images and graphics on your site. People tend to be visual creatures who instinctively respond more favorably to pictures and images than to large bunches of words.

3. Pay attention to the color scheme. A well-crafted color scheme and a professional look often go hand in hand. Choosing the right colors is an art and requires expertise and/or research. Enlisting the help of a pro in this area is not a bad idea. The key is to catch the eye and create interest without being gaudy. And the color scheme needs to be consistent throughout your site, so make sure that the sub-pages reflect a similar look to the home page.

4. Limit the number of different fonts you use. When you mix several different fonts together, your site becomes messy-looking. This can lead to the customer feeling confused, disturbed, or overwhelmed. Instead, stick with one font, or at most two, throughout the site. It will make your site consistent-looking. And keep in mind that consistency results in an organized and attractive appearance.

5. Make your site easy to read. Use headers! This is a good way to break up text and to let your readers know the subject of the material that follows. You will be making it easier for them to scan your page and quickly identify specific paragraphs of interest to them. And as an added bonus, you will be aiding the search engines in understanding your content as well. Another way to make your site readable is to make liberal use of bulleted or numbered topics. This format is an easy one for people to absorb and creates a neat, attractive, and organized impression.

When I see a confusing website, my first impulse is to move on. I think most people feel the same way. If the site itself is a turn-off, then people are going to feel that the material inside probably won’t do them much good either. But it doesn’t take much to turn a messy site into an attractive one. When you organize your site and make it look organized, the traffic will follow.

Guest Article by Kenneth McCall

Kenneth McCall builds creative and innovative tools for customer seeking self storage units. Kenneth is the director of operations at storage.com which provides Washington D.C. self storage listings, and storage units in many locations across the country. In his spare time he likes to get outside, ideally with a boat and water skis.

Image Source: Flickr