The other day I experienced a real life reminder about how important good navigation is to business success.

As I pulled into the grocery store parking lot I noticed a high school group was offering a car wash to raise money for their activity fees. I decided that if the line wasn’t too long, I’d go ahead and have my car done.

But when I got to the side of the building I had no idea where the line was. There were two cars being washed and several other cars parked along the side, with women standing next to the cars. Were they waiting to get their car washed? Or were they supervising the girls that were washing the cars? Should I wait where I was or drive around to the side where the other cars were parked?

I had no idea what to do and no one offered any help. So I left.

That happens to me on websites too….. if I get to your site and I have no idea where to turn, I just move on.

It’s hard to evaluate the user friendliness of our own sites. We know exactly what everything means and where a visitor should click next. But direction for first time and repeat visitors is critical to success.

If you’re too close to the project to look at it with a critical eye, have a friend or colleague do it for you.

Make sure your customers know exactly how to navigate your site.