Depending on the marketing strategies you’re pursuing, most people who come to your website will have found you through a search engine (most likely Google). They’ll come to your site filled with the high expectation they’re going to find what they want more or less immediately and their pain or problem is going to be eliminated.

But, if your site is poorly layed out and signposted the chances are extremely high their expectations of immediate gratification are going to be crushed and they’ll leave, never to return again.

There can be any number of reasons for a poorly structured and layed out site. But there are perhaps two reasons worth commenting on:

• Unique design
• The dog’s breakfast approach

Unique design

We’ve all seen it a hundred times before, sites that have the unbridled desire to stand out and be unique. Sometimes this is through the desire of the owner to be different, but in other cases its the desire of the designer to break the mold. Whatever, it won’t help the owner to generate more leads or sales. Sites like this are only good for the CV of the designer.

There are unwritten rules for the design of websites. And while they may seem absolutely uninspiring, they work. Lets take an example to illustrate the point. Printed newspapers, with all their years of experience, can teach us many good lessons about layout and presentation. They’ve learnt a singularly important rule that their audience are creatures of habit and the only way to keep their market is to be consistent with presentation and layout.

When all said and done your market doesn’t want to think when the arrive at your website, they want it dished up in a way that’s easy to follow. For them - and you - familiarity breeds success - not contempt! If the purpose of your website is to sell or to generate leads the sole purpose of design is to sell. At the end of the day, you’ve got to make the call, are you primarily after good looks or good results.

The dog’s breakfast approach

People who follow this approach normally have a recessive gene that geneticist’s have only just identified. This gene is call the “structure” gene. It makes these people incapable of creating or establishing order. If we are to look on this in a kindly manner, we might refer to these people as “stream of consciousness” writers. Great for writing novels in this genre, but bad for websites.

Promise and fulfillment

The approach I take is that of Promise and Fulfillment. When I search for a product or service and I’m confronted by a litany of results that are actually promises. If I click on this link I am going to find what I want. In other words, I’m going to have my promise fulfilled.

As a website owner the copy that I use in my title and description tags are actually promises. It is therefore important that what is created here is both accurate and engaging - a true reflection of what is going to be found on that page.

With a solid structure and clear signposts, visitors will find what they want in a way that doesn’t make them think.