23 August 2009

I was playing with my kids today - building things out of Lego blocks, when I realized something. Each child has a different level of tolerance for the way we store our blocks (all thrown into one large bin).

My oldest is able to look for blocks on her own. My middle child asks me to help her find what she's looking for. And the youngest asks me to find every block for him.

But the one thing they all had in common is the search - sometimes a 5-10 minute search for the piece they needed.

At one point I recalled how my brother and I used to sort every Lego block into categories, shapes and colors for just this reason.

Why Am I Telling You This?
Our websites are just like Lego blocks. People are looking through them to find something, or to complete tasks. And if we just "dump" all the blocks out there and make them hunt for things, the less tolerant will simply leave.

Why? Because Navigation Architecture Matters!

If you've never sat down and restructured your site for usability, now is the perfect time.

Strip away all the glut, put first things first and get people where they need to go in two clicks or less if at all possible.

Believe me, they'll thank you for it.