One of the difficult aspects of many higher ed websites is designing the navigation to function correctly. Multiple audiences, various departments and decentralized design and development make this a difficult, if not impossible, hurdle.
Fortunately, navigation is quickly becoming second-rate as users turn to search engines to find the content they are after. A report from eMarketer today (recaping a TNS report) shows that 89% of internet users are using search. 89%. Those with broadband are much more likely to use search: 95%. Searching is more popular than checking the weather, paying bills, watching YouTube or visiting a social network.
This quickly brings up the need for robust search capabilities on our sites. Are users forgoing the complicated navigational schemes created and massaged for years in design committees and using search to find what they are looking for? This report would indicate the trend moving in that direction.
This highlights the need for strategies around:
- Search Engine Optimization - are your pages indexed correctly in the search engines?
- Site search - Is this available, and if so without effort (don't hide a search box behind a click).
- Site search analytics - a goldmine of data waiting to be discovered. How often are searches taking place, and what is being searched for? Most importantly, are users finding what they are looking for?
6 thoughts:
Our web developers quoted similar statistics, before destroying all navigation on the site and forcing us to de-structure content.
When we did a usability study with 30+ students (of various ages and IT literacy levels), it turned out that about 40% were search dominant, 40% were browsing / navigation dominant, and 20% seemed in the middle. After a few minutes of frustration, searchers would try looking for navigation, and browsers would try the search.
The end result was very mixed. Destroying the navigation has lost us a lot of usability, and, for a minority of students, it has made it very unlikely they will find the information they're after.
Yes, search is gaining prominence among younger users and students. But catering for people who browse for content is still important.
@Anonymous:
What is your site URL?
I agree that search is gaining more importance. Quite often when I come to a website, my first act is to look for the search box and search what I'm looking for. I find it is quicker than understanding that site's IA. I do agree with the anonymous poster who said we still need to cater to people who browse for content.
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This is great blog you tuch the smae points we do on our blog www.emilcohen.com we sharing same vision of better internet.
Seth -- good point on the importance of search. We've incorporated a Google appliance for improved searching capacity on our newly redesigned Web site, which launched yesterday: http://www.richmond.edu. We've incorporated customization, storytelling and social media to round out the site; SEO isn't fully built-in yet, but is coming.
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