5 Essential Elements that Every Web Site Must Contain

As you design and layout your web site (or look at your current one) ensure that it contains 5 essential elments. These paramount pieces help the user navigate the site with ease, give them confidence and increase the likelyhood that they return.

1. Site Logo – Maintain a site ID or distinguishing feature that remains consistent across all pages. Your home page may differ somewhat from your secondary pages only because it serves a much larger purpose. A consistent site logo on all pages is a subliminal message to the user that they are within the same site as they browse your content.

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2. Search Function – Their are a few dominate ways that users use the web; one of which are search dominant users. These users initially search for information upon visiting a site before exploring further. Ensure that your site gives these users a way to search with either a search box or a link to a search box. Don’t confuse the user by using terms such as find, keyword or quick find. It may make sense to your or me, but there may be a hint of doubt on the actual meaning of these terms to some users. Stick with the term “search” only.

3. Sections – Permanent navigation that corresponds and links to the main sections of your site. Navigation should be consistent and prevelent on all pages of your site.

4. Utilities - Utilities are those critical elements to a web site’s functionality that don’t necessarily add to the site’s content or sections. Examples include sitemap, about us, contact us and help. Utilities should be limited to 4 at most.

5. Home Button and “You are Here” indicators – A home button gives the user a safe feeling that if they linger off they can always return to where they started. Each page should have a home button as well as the Site logo linking back to the home page. “You are Here” indicators are navigational tools that allow the user to know what page or section of your site they are on at any time. “You are Here” indicatiors almost act as a GPS for your web site. As your car’s GPS continually updates you on your progress as you travel, so do these indicatiors. They give confidence to the user that they can successfully find the information they are looking for and that your site isn’t as big as it seems from the outside (even though it really may be). Breadcrumbs are a subtle example of this, but I would recommend that additional indications are present on your site as well.