There tends to be a lot of emphasis placed on the design part of website design, but arguably one of the most important elements of a website (and often the most neglected) is how a website functions. If you’ve ever been on a site where you can’t find the information you’re looking for, the site doesn’t work the way it should, or you leave a site more in the dark about what that company or person does than when you first logged on, you know firsthand how crucial it is that a website’s function and purpose are well thought-out. Because if you can’t easily access the information you’re looking for and need, what’s the point of the site?
I’ve already covered how to apply feng shui principles to a website in order to adjust the feelings it evokes. Now, let’s focus on how to ensure your website functions optimally, feng shui-style.
Make Your Intentions Known
Oh dear lord. When looking at the above site, is it clear what this person does? Do you gain any more information about their business? Do you know whether you would want to work with them or not?
The number one thing that websites should be very clear on is why someone might want to visit that site and what actions they should take while they’re there. It’s crucial to make the purpose of your website known and obvious, and visitors should know exactly what it is that you do and what services you offer. The main thing to ask yourself for the website as a whole and for each page is, does this have a point and what is it? You want your website to be crystal clear.
Make Your Site Easy to Use
Does the site above look like an easy site to visit? Do you want to explore it? Eh, not really. Everything is all over the place on this page and it’s not clear what belongs with what or what you should look at first.
Layout and ease of use are so important for a website, but they’re often overlooked in favor of design. It’s crucial to make sure your visitors have a clear path that they are meant to follow when they get on your site and that they can easily navigate through the pages. Imagine that you are a new visitor to your site. Ask yourself, what’s the first thing you see? Is it easy to find out more about you and your services? Don’t make it so complicated or fancy that visitors forget why they’re there or give up trying to find the information they’re looking for.
Your Site Should Flow
It’s important that your site has a natural, easy flow to it, and it should make sense in how it’s laid out. Be aware of the order in which the pages and sections follow each other and how you’ve organized your site since this further conveys who you are and what your focus is. If you’re organized and thoughtful, fun and creative, or a trendsetter, your layout will reflect that to your visitors. Feng shui is about what you see and experience around you, so if your site doesn’t flow easily from one section or page to the next or if it’s disorganized or illogical in how it’s arranged, this could convey to a visitor that this is how it might be to work with you. Which is probably not the point you’re looking to get across.
Make Sure Everything Is Alive and Current
Take a look at the sites above. What do these pieces of information tell us about these businesses? It could be that they’re out of business and not operational anymore, or they aren’t detail-oriented, or they don’t care enough to maintain a website with current information (all pretty undesirable takeaways).
Just as it’s bad feng shui to not have things in good working order in your home, you want to make sure your website is always up-to-date, that all the links and buttons work as they’re supposed to, and that all the pages are labeled appropriately. This adds vitality and positivity to your site, attracts the right people, and avoids frustrating your visitors. Also consider whether your visitors can easily connect with you. Are they able to engage with your site? It’s frustrating if you log onto a website and aren’t able to click on stuff.
Now for the last element of this "strategy for website success": let’s review how to use feng shui to impact the design of a website because good (and feng shui-supported) design is essential in helping you achieve your online (and real world) goals.
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