Do drop down menus enhance usability or reduce the chances of converting?
Posted by Louis Venter on 01 Oct 2008 | Tagged as: Analytics, SEO Strategy, Site Structure
I`ve been working on the redesign of our side site for a few weeks now, and one key question needed to be addressed. What type of menu structure works best? Typically, SEO companies will advise site owners to use a CSS drop down menu structure, as it brings the 3rd tier content closer to the home page and thus gives it more relevancy and link juice. But is this the best route for usability and conversion?
Search engine marketing is not short of acronyms that make perfect sense to us, but not necessarily to our prospective partner agencies and clients. From SEM, SEO and PPC to Online PR and ROI; it`s important not to forget that just because we understand what they all are, doesn`t mean our target audience does.
This brings me to the drop down menu. Are we asking visitors to make decisions before they even know what the options are?
I`ve chosen to review Media Temple`s website and to look for dedicated hosting. Media Temple is a website, which I thought was a good example of great design, but perhaps not the best way to go in terms of menu structure.
At first glance, the site looks great for a hosting company with credibility elements from ABC, Sony, and Diesel, etc… It also has a good flash panel that displays with the three service offerings. Great first impression, credible company;, now let`s find out what I need.
I`m looking for web hosting and there`s a tab for that, which is all great, but is it really? My old nemesis, the dropdown menu, drops in and now I`ve got to make a choice between the three services on the front page. They happen to be Grid Service, Dedicated Virtual and Nitro. Yup, very descriptive aren`t they?
Media Temple Drop down menu
I come from a web development background and have been building sites for around 12 years, now and I have no idea which one to choose. Yes, I could buy on price and that gives me a rough idea of what the service entails, however, the Nitro looks like a true dedicated service, although the Dedicated Virtual sounds more dedicated, but is nowhere near the cost. Which do I choose?
The drop down list forces me to make a decision I`m not ready to make., i It`s up to me to compare all three and work out what`s best for me. Like most IT professionals I get irritated and go. We`re not a patient bunch are we?
Nett effect = Bounce rate + 1
IMHO, what they needed to do was kill the drop down and introduce a summary page containing a comparison of each service, which would explain educating me what the differences between the options were and funnelling me to the right solution for my needs. It also means that they control the journey through the site.
If your site is service based - keep it simple, give as much overview to how you fit into their world and don`t assume they know what you do., At the end of the day, you need to be the expert that they are looking for. Ignore their need and you will lose the opportunity.
Bounce and Conversion rate are the key factors that need to be evaluated and improved constantly. Let`s not forget that the net effect of doubling the conversion rate is more than doubling the ROI. Reducing the bounce rate by half will achieve the same return. Something as small as a menu change could increase the your site`s effectiveness dramatically.
When last did you check whether you`re asking questions that your target market doesn`t have the answers to?
4 Responses to “Do drop down menus enhance usability or reduce the chances of converting?”
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:45 am
I have to confess to being a little partial to drop down menus, but I’ll also admit that I fall for the flashy coolness that they imply. And I don’t really mind exploring a site to find what I want, provided I’m not in a hurry.
If you were to go to an actual store, you would also have to do a fair amount of exploring and then spend an unnecessary amount of time trying to find a sales person to help you.
I know that people go online to avoid all of that, and I know that usability and easy navigation are essential to a site. And I understand the credo that site owners must not make their users think or do too much.
But perhaps the problem isn’t drop down menus themselves, so much as the terms used in the menus. If menus were more descriptive or gave a more accurate view of what users will find in the sections, drop down menus wouldn’t really be a problem, would they?
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:35 am
Yep i agree to a point but more descriptive usually means longer text and ungainly design.
Not sure I agree too much with the shop analogy because drop down lists work very well in a commodity based ecommerce shop, Logitech for example has a great drop down menu.
I was really trying to focus on the service based industries where potential clients are looking for specialist help and often those sites assume a basic knowledge of what they offer to navigate this site. Personally i think thats a bit arrogant and counter productive?
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:00 am
I agree, some sites assume too much knowledge on the part of their customers.
But when I said more descriptive I didn’t necessarily mean more text, just better choice of words.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
aaah