How Do I Declutter My Website?

Written by Shaan Nicol•9 Aug 2023•18 minutes

A common mistake business owners make with their online presence is trying to cover too many options. There is a desire to provide “something for everyone”, which only makes your website confusing, cluttered and uninviting.

The reality is that your business and your offer aren’t for everyone. There will be a predictable and targeted audience to who your business is ideally suited because you solve a problem they are currently facing.

While it can seem like a good idea to have as many options as possible on your website, rather than attract, you will most likely drive them away. There are a few goals a clean and clear website message can achieve, including:

Reducing bounce rates
Giving your visitors a straightforward journey towards a conversion
Having your visitors stay on your site and browse longer
Encourage visitors to return to your site again

One of the significant areas you can clean up and declutter is your website navigation menu. How this is presented and what you have listed here can significantly impact your conversion rates. This works by helping your visitors take the next logical step in the buying sequence so they don’t need to wade through unwanted information to progress. It’s faster, easier and more likely to get results.

Clutter can quickly put visitors off, be confusing or cause readers to feel overwhelmed and indecisive.

This blog provides some structured steps to simplify your navigation menu to take the overwhelm off your visitor’s shoulders and give them fast and convenient pathways to reach their goal (which should ultimately be the same as your business goals).

Key Takeaways

You can enhance user experience, improve conversion rates, and guide visitors toward their goals more effectively; you need to:

Avoid Overcrowding and Confusion: Trying to offer something for everyone on your website can lead to clutter and confusion, deterring visitors and decreasing engagement.
Targeted Audience Focus: Recognise that your business and offerings are not meant for everyone; instead, focus on a specific audience that your solutions can effectively address.
Benefits of a Clean Website: Streamlining your website’s message and navigation can reduce bounce rates, guide visitors towards conversions, prolong browsing sessions, and encourage repeat visits.

Steps to Declutter Your Website Menu

Simple navigation is sure to give your business website an elegant and beautiful design. It combines the impactful elements of being highly interactive and minimal in one straightforward navigational pathway. When done well, you can continue this consistently throughout your website to get a beautiful website from start to finish.

These straightforward and simple changes will immediately impact your business website’s usability.

Here are six simple steps to take to move from a navigation that is cluttered and confusing to simple and elegant:

Only Assign Important Links

The number one rule for simplifying your menu is how many options you have. Try to keep your navigation limited to only the essential links.

Examples of your high-priority essentials are:

Services/Products
About
Blog
Contact

You want a minimum of three and a maximum of seven to hit that sweet spot of being informative enough without overwhelming.

(Note that the number of essential links doesn’t include secondary navigation drop-down or mega menus – we’ll cover these in the following points).

Keep the Navigation in View

While it might be tempting to hide your navigation, don’t. When it comes to a business website, practicality will trump style every time, so keep it in an easy-to-find and accessible spot, even across mobile devices, where you might be more tempted to reduce clutter by tucking it away.

Why? Hidden menus make more work for your prospects.

If you hide your navigation, make sure it’s behind the regular hamburger menu so it is easy to recognise. Remember, there are pros and cons to leaving your navigation open and tucking it behind an easily recognised button. Just be sure you choose the one that best suits your audience and screen size.

Open navigation menu – Open navigation links on tablet and mobile views provide a more intuitive user experience. Still, they can take up valuable screen space that confuses and clutters the smaller devices.

Hidden navigation menu – This can tidy up the message and content on a smaller screen and provide a streamlined look but adds an extra level of complexity that may be confusing, untrustworthy or hard to follow.

The worst you can do here is hide navigation links behind an icon or button. If you use a button as your navigation link, keep it labelled and always visible.

Assign Secondary Links

If you initially had any secondary links located on your navigation, move these out and let your essential ones shine. If the secondary links are helpful and needed by some users, slip them into a drop-down menu (with examples if this helps define them) or place them in your website footer. You can also do both the drop-down and footer options if you want to make these points accessible from several different locations.

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Steer Clear of Mega Menus

Mega menus get their name because they encompass everything – menus that open into multiple categories that branch into even more subcategories. While they can be a great way to show users every option available, is that something that is needed or beneficial to them?

Remember that your user has come to your site for one specific purpose. Make sure you understand this purpose clearly and create a website navigation and content pathway that gives them shortcuts to get precisely there.

Consider a section in the footer at the bottom of your page if you want to include some mega menu details.

Adapted to Every Screen

Controlling variable screen sizes is relevant no matter what changes you are making or what aspect of your website you are rejigging. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a website that is optimised across all devices and screen sizes.

There are essential differences you need to consider from a desktop with oodles of room for content and navigation menus to tablets, smartphones and even wearables if you send out emails with embedded content and links.

Keep in mind, too, that desktop screens not only have more room for open menus, but these users have more time to browse. At the same time, mobile devices will probably be handled by users who are on the go, have limited resources, and be surrounded by distractions. Please think about your user positions and plan your website content and layout to make things as easy and straightforward as possible for them.

Choose Fonts Wisely

Most navigation menus use a standard font. While it might be tempting to go for something fancy to stand out from the pack, there is a reason why the pack follows simple, straightforward fonts: they are easy to read, fast to follow and get positive results.

You need to aim for copywriting that is simple and easy to read. Don’t risk choosing something eligible or dramatic. Stick with basic fonts that align with your content font and be happy to be straightforward and easy to follow rather than decorative and eye-catching.

What Are the Benefits of Decluttering Your Website Menu?

The benefits of a simplified website menu make it worthwhile. It’s important to note that businesses gain as much from decluttering as the viewer.

Putting in the work to cut your navigation back will help you prioritise your website offering. It will naturally bring the rest of your website in line with a decluttered flow and easy-to-follow navigation.

Organised Content

While simplifying your website navigation isn’t a big job and won’t cost much time or money, our clients still see significant benefits from just a few minor tweaks. The biggest one is that clean navigation will positively impact how your website is organised.

Overall a clean navigation layout makes for a better prospect experience.

To gain the simplicity we mention in the steps above, you’ll probably find the need to merge some of your website sections and bring your content under a collection of main headings. Chances are the navigation restructure will also prompt a clean-up of your content and allow you to create a concise and clean set of main pages, making it easier for prospects to search and explore.

You can still choose your content preferences based on content or audience structure, depending on what your audience will find more predicate and user-friendly.

Content-Based – Pages are put into the order of what users are most likely looking for. The content-based structure is favoured across most business websites because they are logical and usually aligns with visitor aims and goals, making them easy to navigate and yield good conversions.

Audience-Based – While not as expected, this structure is effective for the right websites. Having several audience personas who come to your website to fulfil different needs is valuable. The audience-based structure divides your site into sections that each follow different pathways depending on their needs. This will allow multiple users to navigate to their unique goals. You must clarify which section is for which user with clear labels, headings and well-structured navigation showing the ultimate goal.

Better Communication

Decluttering means less is more. That will require you to carefully select what goes and what stays and for the information you keep to be as clear and motivating as possible.

Getting this right means outstanding communication that will read well and elevate user trust in your ability to make good on your promise. Why? – you can demonstrate that you know what you are talking about.

You will use bolder and more impactful communication styles when you simplify your navigation. So, for example, a decluttered website menu label will feature only one word per section. For the most significant impact, choose your words wisely.

Higher Engagement

Simple navigation will encourage users to explore your site and take the stepping stones you provide through primary and secondary action steps. They will find it enjoyable to read, easy to navigate and offer precisely what they came searching for in the first place.

If you are seeing a high bounce rate, simplifying and decluttering your navigation menu is the first thing I urge you to look at changing. As well as, providing a straightforward and engaging navigation pathway will encourage you to get rid of excess content and surplus headings you have lying around within your pages. Once the navigation menu is cut down, it gives you a clear map of how the rest of your website content can look so you are not overwhelmed with where to start with a content overhaul.

If you are still stuck or seeing issues with your click-through rates or conversions, contact us for help and advice on how you can make some simple and consequential changes to your online business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – How Do I Declutter My Website?

Can decluttering my website improve its search engine ranking?

Yes, decluttering your website can positively impact your search engine ranking. A clean and organised website structure improves user experience and can lead to lower bounce rates and longer visit durations, which are factors search engines consider.

What tools can I use to analyze my website’s performance and clutter?

Several website analysis tools, such as Google Analytics and Ahrefs, are available. These tools provide insights into user behaviour, page performance, and other metrics that can help you identify clutter and areas for improvement.

Why is having a clutter-free website important for my business?

A clutter-free website is crucial because it provides visitors with a clear and focused experience. When cluttered with unnecessary options and information, your website can confuse and overwhelm users, leading to higher bounce rates and lower conversions. Simplifying your website’s design and content helps guide visitors towards their goals and enhances their overall experience.

How does clutter negatively impact my website’s performance?

Clutter on your website can lead to several adverse outcomes. It can slow down page loading times, making visitors impatient. It can also distract visitors from the main message or call to action, making it harder for them to understand your offerings. Additionally, clutter can make your website feel unprofessional and difficult to navigate, ultimately driving potential customers away.

What is the relationship between decluttering and reducing bounce rates?

Bounce rates refer to the percentage of visitors who navigate away from your site after viewing only one page. Cluttered websites can contribute to high bounce rates because visitors may feel overwhelmed or unable to find what they want. A clean and organized website design, with straightforward navigation and focused content, can entice visitors to explore more pages and stay longer.

How can a clutter-free website enhance the user’s journey towards conversion?

A clutter-free website guides users towards their desired actions more effectively. Streamlining your website’s design, content, and navigation makes it easier for visitors to find the information they need and take the desired actions, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form. This smooth user journey increases the likelihood of conversions.

Can a simplified website design encourage visitors to stay and browse longer?

A simplified website design creates a more pleasant and intuitive browsing experience. Visitors who can quickly find relevant information and navigate without confusion will likely stay on your website longer. This extended engagement provides more opportunities to showcase your offerings and build a connection with your audience.

How does a clutter-free website promote visitor return rates?

A clutter-free website leaves a positive impression on visitors. When users have a seamless and enjoyable experience on your site, they’re more likely to remember it and return in the future. The clear structure and ease of navigation make it convenient for them to revisit and engage with your content or services again.

What role does the navigation menu play in decluttering a website?

The navigation menu is a critical component of decluttering your website. It serves as a roadmap for visitors, guiding them to different sections of your site. By simplifying your navigation menu and including only essential categories or pages, you create a more focused and user-friendly experience, helping visitors find what they need quickly.

How can I determine which elements to keep and remove from my navigation menu?

To determine what elements to keep in your navigation menu, consider your target audience and their most common goals when visiting your website. Prioritise the essential pages that align with these goals. Remove redundant or less relevant pages to avoid overwhelming visitors with too many choices.

Are there tools or techniques to assess the effectiveness of my decluttering efforts?

Yes, user testing, heatmaps, and analytics tools can help you assess the effectiveness of your decluttering efforts. User testing involves getting feedback from real users on the usability of your website. Heatmaps visually represent user interactions, highlighting which parts of your site receive the most attention. Analytics tools like Google Analytics can provide insights into user behaviour and conversion rates.

How often should I revisit and update my website’s decluttered design?

Regularly revisiting your website’s design and content is essential to remain relevant and practical. Industry trends, user preferences, and business goals may change over time. Aim to review and update your website’s design at least once a year or more frequently if significant changes are needed.