Does Your Website Navigation Drive Shoppers Toward a Purchase?
The end goal of every dealership/shopper interaction is a straightforward path to purchase and a lifelong customer relationship. Unfortunately, way too many shoppers are getting lost along the way as a result of disorganized, unoptimized website navigation.
Your website navigation, which includes your website’s main menu items and the overall ease with which visitors traverse your site, is a key aspect of your online presence. It serves as the digital gateway to your dealership and gives shoppers the visual and contextual cues to keep progressing down the path to purchase.
This blog post will explore some essential strategies for creating an intuitive and engaging navigation system to enhance the user experience of your website and maximize sales conversion. More specifically, this article will detail the importance of effective website navigation and offer several best practices for managing navigation and design, including the following:
- Keep the Homepage Clean
- Simplify Your Navigation Structure
- Enhance Website Speed and Performance
- Implement Responsive Design
- Optimize Your Navigation for Search Engines
- Prioritize Visual Appeal
- Optimize Search Functionality
- Be Specific with Lead Forms
- Partner with the Right Digital Storefront Provider
Importance of Effective Website Navigation
You take pride in your dealership and you want to tell shoppers all about everything you offer. But when your website visitors are confronted with complicated navigation structures, including links to every aspect of your dealership, it can lead to information overload and a slow, cumbersome navigation experience.
A confusing or cumbersome website navigation system can lead to high bounce rates, as users are more likely to abandon a site that they find challenging to navigate. It can also give your shoppers the wrong impression of your dealership, as 94% of first impressions are related to website design.
Instead of starting with a baseline of offering nearly endless information and options, give your shoppers a simple navigation experience, with fewer elements and efficient coding. This will contribute to faster loading times, which is crucial for both user satisfaction and SEO.
Simple navigation ensures that users can easily find what they are looking for. Intuitive menus and straightforward paths to information or products reduce frustration and make the overall shopping experience more pleasant.
Search engines also value user-friendly websites, because they are programmed to know that simple navigation contributes to a positive user experience. In fact, search engines may reward easy-to-navigate websites with higher rankings, leading to increased visibility and more organic traffic.
Simply put, streamlined navigation contributes to higher conversion rates. When users can easily navigate your website, they are more likely to complete desired actions, such as making a purchase, filling out a form or contacting your dealership.
Website Navigation Best Practices
Simple website navigation benefits your business, but you have to put in the work or find the right website provider to help you optimize your navigation experience. Consider the following website navigation best practices to drive shoppers toward making a purchase.
Keep the Homepage Clean
Similar to overstuffing the navigation menu, a common misconception among dealers is that the homepage has to feature as much information as is physically and digitally possible. Keep in mind that the homepage is just the gateway to the rest of your digital storefront; it’s not the destination.
Omit content that takes up a lot of real estate on the homepage, such as video backgrounds, multiple featured inventory sliders and logos of every manufacturer brand you carry (if you carry several). An exception to the logo guideline would be if you’re a luxury brand dealer and need to showcase the specific brands you carry.
In other words, don’t overly focus on customization right away. You want your website to stand out and represent your unique brand, but not at the expense of its functionality. Be mindful of content above the fold—the portion of a webpage visible without scrolling. It plays a pivotal role in capturing visitors' attention and driving conversions.
A good rule of thumb is to prioritize the most successful aspects of your dealership upfront. For example, if 80% of your revenue comes from new unit sales, then new units should represent 80% of the content above your website fold.
Simplify Your Menu Navigation
Keep your website menu navigation simple and intuitive. A cluttered or confusing navigation menu can lead to frustration and prompt potential customers to leave your site. Organize your products and services into logical categories, making it easy for users to find what they're looking for.
As a general rule, it’s important to limit your main website menu to five or fewer items. Consider implementing a clean and straightforward menu structure that includes categories such as Home, Inventory, Parts, Services and Dealership Info.
In the dealership industry, there are two ways to organize your inventory offerings in a dropdown from the main inventory tab, depending on which you feel would resonate more with shoppers. You can categorize by product type (ATVs, motorcycles, scooters) or you can categorize by brand (Polaris, Kawasaki, Ducati).
In addition to these main menu elements, feature your website contact information alongside your navigation menu. Keep your map, hours and address easy to find and access. If you’re a multi-location dealer, list your locations by city, not by the name of each dealership store.
Enhance Website Speed & Performance
Page load speed is a critical component to the functionality of your website navigation. A slow website can deter users and impact your search engine rankings. To optimize your website speed and performance, use a reliable hosting provider with sufficient resources to handle traffic.
Depending on your website provider, most factors that impact website load speed are built into your website’s development and handled by your provider, which makes your choice of provider all the more impactful.
You do have considerably more control over how your website images are optimized. Take steps to compress images to reduce file sizes without compromising quality. Websites such as tinypng.com offer a great resource for compressing images. Also, be sure to use the appropriate image format for each file type (JPEG for photographs, PNG for graphics with transparency, etc.).
Implement Responsive Design
Shoppers are likely to access your website from a variety of devices, including smartphones and tablets. In fact, more than half (64.95%) of global website traffic is generated by mobile devices.
Ensure that your website has a responsive design and adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes. This is another reason why a simple navigation menu is crucial; a crowded menu bar is difficult to navigate on a small screen. A mobile-friendly website not only enhances the user experience on smartphones, but is also favored by search engines, contributing to better visibility in search results.
Optimize Your Navigation for Search Engines
The right Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy can drive traffic to your simply by making your website more user friendly. In fact, SEO is a key component of website design and navigation, so it’s important to prioritize user intent. For example, because people read website content left to right like a book, make sure the most important menu items are toward the left.
The more time shoppers spend on your site, the better. But you don’t necessarily want visitors to spend a lot of time on category pages, especially if they’re only passing through to find the right inventory listing. The faster your shoppers find what they want, the longer they will spend on your site looking at content, which increases time on site and signals to search engines that the website is valuable.
You can facilitate visitors finding what they want faster by incorporating strategic internal links between related pages to enhance user navigation and distribute link equity. When linking internally or externally, use descriptive anchor text that gives users and search engines a clear understanding of the linked content. Be sure to include relevant keywords but avoid keyword-stuffing. As an example, Google understands that “service page” will also include repairs, so you don’t need to call it your “service and repairs page.”
Prioritize Visual Appeal
Visual appeal is crucial in the dealership industry, where aesthetics often play a significant role in purchasing decisions. When your visitors see something they like, they will be drawn toward a certain part of your webpage. You can use these kinds of visual cues to direct shoppers down the path to purchase.
Use high-quality images and graphics to showcase your products. Incorporate visually appealing design elements without compromising on functionality. Consider sliders or carousels to highlight featured products or promotions, providing an engaging user experience.
Still, you don’t want to overload your website and your shoppers’ senses with unnecessary visuals. Ensure that only one element of your page is moving at all times. For example, if you have a scrolling slide show at the top of your page, don’t add an animated widget to your page as well. Movement draws the eye, so prioritize the most important content you want website visitors to see.
Optimize Search Functionality
Shoppers love a good search tool. It can help them find exactly what they want right away, as long as it works as intended. Implement a robust search functionality on your website that allows users to quickly find specific products or information. Incorporate filters and sorting options to refine search results. An intelligent search bar that provides suggestions as users type can significantly enhance the user experience and guide customers to relevant products more efficiently.
Be Specific with Lead Forms
Remember, your homepage is just the gateway to the rest of your website. Most homepage visitors aren’t ready to convert, so it’s important to reserve lead forms for specific pages such as Vehicle Detail Pages, services and your Contact page. Including a generic lead form such as Contact Us on your homepage will likely result in spam submissions. Plus, it simply doesn’t flow within the context of your site or the shopping experience. Genuine sales leads are going to gravitate toward specific calls to action such as Get a Quote, Value a Trade In or Apply for Financing.
Partner with a Digital Storefront Provider
A well-designed and user-friendly website navigation system can be a game-changer for driving sales conversions. Partnering with a digital storefront provider goes beyond cosmetic improvements to your website. It's a strategic investment in creating a user-friendly, efficient and scalable online platform. As your dealership continues to compete in the digital space and bring in new shoppers via online avenues, a well-designed and navigable website will give you a competitive advantage to attract and retain customers, while fostering long-term success.