Web Design Tips For Fixed Navigation And Calls To Action

The main thing to keep in mind for fixed navigation and calls to action: less is more. Too much clutter and too many options confuse website visitors and actually accomplish the opposite of what is intended — instead of attracting leads, overdesign drives them away. Here are a few important things I always keep in mind on a Web design project.

Fixed Calls to Action

• Use only the most important calls to action, such as Sign Up, Contact and Schedule.
• Create a fixed call to action only when necessary, rather than dilute the message by having it appear on every site page. For example, do not have an aggressive “order now” CTA on a detailed information page. Give users time to research before bombarding them with suggestions on what to do next.

Fixed Navigation

Keep main navigation to a minimum. Keep in mind that as a window starts to shrink from a desktop view, at some point that navigation has to go to a secondary option. The more pages you have in the main navigation, the quicker the display shifts to a hamburger navigation icon or mobile menu.

Avoid Clutter

• Keep it simple: one message at a time. Giving users three options to choose from only decreases the chances of them clicking on the one you really want them to.
• Do not use a fixed header and footer at the same time. Not only can one distract from the other, the combination will eat too much screen space for mobile users. A good solution is to add your main CTA button to your main navigation. This gives you the best of both worlds, although doesn’t leave much space for messaging. That problem, however, can be a blessing in disguise — too much messaging often creates clutter and deters conversions.