If you’re not a web developer, “website structure” might sound like tech jargon someone made up to sound important at a networking event. But it’s actually a big deal – and for good reason. Think of it as the skeleton of your website, holding everything in place and ensuring your visitors (and search engines) can find what they’re looking for without feeling like they’re on a treasure hunt.
What is Website Structure?
Your website is your company’s library, and the structure is how you arrange the books so visitors can easily find what they need. A well-built structure connects pages through intuitive navigation and clear categories, keeping everything organized and accessible.
Why does it Matter?
User Experience
It’s not ideal for you to walk into your messy closet, try to grab your favorite jacket, and find it stuck under an avalanche of shoes. So, why would you want your website structure to feel the same? A great structure helps users navigate quickly and efficiently, boosting their experience and making them more likely to stick around. You can make your website’s navigation as accessible as possible by utilizing headers, sub-headers and menus. If your structure is not up to par with visitors’ standards, it will cause them to seek an alternative, resulting in your website having a high bounce rate.
Crawlability
Google is like that nosy neighbor who wants to know everything about your house before recommending it to anyone else. When your site is well-structured, Google and other search engines can crawl and index it faster, helping you climb the search engine rankings. This means more visibility, more clicks and more wins.
Boosts Conversion Rates
A confused visitor rarely becomes a customer. If your call-to-action buttons aren’t visible or buried under a labyrinth of pages, you’re asking visitors to give up before they even get to the good stuff. Keep your structure simple, clear and logical to guide people straight to where you want them to go.
How Can You Improve Your Site Structure?
If your site feels more “maze” than “map,” here are some tips to get things back on track:
Audit Your Entire Site
Make a table of every page you have and include categories where they are currently living. Your columns should include content type, topic, title, webpage and headers. If you currently have no categories, then now would be the perfect time to begin sorting your website and the web pages into categories.
Simply Your Navigation
Your menus shouldn’t read like the Cheesecake Factory menu. Keep it simple – focus on the most important pages and group related ones together.
Use Internal Linking
Linking between pages on your site not only helps visitors navigate but also makes Google love you more. For example, we are discussing website structure in this blog post, however, we can also send you to look at our work we’ve previously done and the impact we’ve made for our clients. This also helps users find related content on your website.
Optimize for Mobile
A structure that works beautifully on desktops but makes mobile users less than happy is a no-go. Your site should be just as easy to navigate on a phone as it is on a laptop.
A well-structured site isn’t just nice to have – it’s essential for keeping visitors engaged, getting found by search engines and ultimately driving conversions. If your site feels a little chaotic and you’re not sure where to start, contact JSK Marketing today! Reach out for a free 30-minute consultation, and let’s bring some order to your digital chaos. Your users and your SEO will thank you later.
