Corporate websites face an interesting challenge: how can you render your products, your services, your people into a succinct, suitable website that doesn't lose your essential company spirit, fading into the background with the millions of other beige corporate websites? And how do you use that website's traffic and create navigation that drives them to convert?

Much of web design and development, especially corporate website development, comes down to user experience. As the second part in our four-part series on user experience for corporate websites, we're diving into how navigation matters: what to watch, consider, and plan for. After running through how content structure affects conversions, we'll show how the same principles apply to increasing how effective your navigation for your bottom line.

1. Easy-to-crawl navigation structures

Websites--even corporate websites--have to consider two primary user types: humans and bots. Leave either out, and your website is looking to miss out. For your users to find your site, a bot must first find it (unless, of course, you plan on handing out the URL to each customer). Fortunately, as far as navigation structure is concerned, what works well in terms of SEO works well for human usability.

Your navigation should be as easy to crawl as possible. This means no Flash or JavaScript navigation structures, and if you must use images, ensure that they have proper ALT tags. While Flash and JavaScript navigation might help the website to stand out, it makes your site nearly impossible to crawl--and that means it won't be indexed or found.

Likewise, in general, Flash is bad news for Chrome users. It crashes. And shutting down your (Chrome) users' browsers isn't good user experience--and they likely won't return to the site. Both Flash and JavaScript require updates, which your users may or may not install. And ongoing support for Flash is a matter to consider for sustainability over time. Ultimately, while the pros and cons of Flash and JavaScript are another discussion altogether, when applied to navigation, they open the door for your users to leave.

Instead, using XHTML and CSS navigation will suit both bots and human users. The right designer will be able to accomplish wonders visually without compromising the site's ability to be crawled and used.

2. Shallow is good

In fact, the shallower, the better. In terms of site structure, your site should be connected so that any page can be reached in 3 or fewer clicks. This means that it's easier to crawl for bots, increasing the likelihood of your pages being crawled and indexed, and it's easier for your visitors to find what they're looking for.

As your users visit your site, you never want to make them work to find the page they want; this just gives them another opportunity to leave. By reducing the required effort, you'll lower your bounce rate and keep your users on your site longer--and increase your conversion rate.

3. Create navigation for points of resolution

In particular, this draws on our previous segment on content structure and conversions. Your navigation is essential for your conversion path. Remember the grocery store layout: which areas lead users to points of resolution?

If you know your users well, you'll be able to anticipate what kind of information they'll require before they'll be ready to make a purchase. Provide this. Guide them through it; don't jump them straight to the checkout page (but, of course, make that page accessible in the primary navigation). While a user shouldn't have to follow through your points of resolution to make a purchase, this information (presented in links) will allow you to answer customer questions and increase the depth of your sales pitch as needed.

4. Plan for user expectations

Most importantly, let your users use your site like how they want. Most visitors will be accustomed to menu placement in the top of the website, as a bar, often right-adjusted. Give them what they expect. In certain instances, anormal navigation might work well, but in general, users appreciate a minimal (read: none) learning curve. Simple, common menu placement has become a standard for a reason.

Place links where they will look for them, such as contact information in the footer. Consider if your call-to-actions drive users to a predictable place, such as a checkout page that doesn't reduce navigation, assuring the user that they can return through the site if needed.

Navigation plays a huge role in user experience, and corporate websites are no exception, especially when optimizing the website for conversions. Have you had any interesting results with navigation? Let us know in the comments below!