The Back Button- How It Effects Website Design

The back button is perhaps the most used of all clickable things. And in a web page there is nothing quite that matches it. But custom web designers seldom spare a though to it while designing a website.

Websites usually have a ‘back to home’ or ‘previous page’ link on the web pages so as to facilitate user experience. But these links lose their purpose if there is any breaking in it. These back buttons, just like the browser back button, should know the exact browsing route of the users and direct them back to the exact location. Users should reach the location where they were previously before they landed on the current page.

How do people browse through a website?
Most internet users search for potential website by typing in their query to popular search engines like Google and Yahoo. Once they land on a website, they immediately start looking for information they need. If they fail to find anything they desired, leaving the website is what they do next.

Users hover their mousse over the scrollbar area and look out for any potential information that may satiate their requirements. They may even flip through some pages. But if there is nothing that they need, the next step is moving a line above your website and hitting the back button of the browser and getting back to the previous location.

How to not make them leave?
Often website designers adopt abrupt techniques to make the visitors stay. In fact these techniques are more towards offering them no option to leave. Something like, trapping them inside the website. Opening the website in chrome-less window is a popular method. They even go to the extent of closing down the original window and opening the website in a new window that has absolutely no controls.

But this is no way to make visitors stay. In fact, the website loses its usability as all the standard methods of browsing are blocked. Visitors only feel trapped and frustrated, so much so that they search frantically for a way to get back. And once they find a way, they escape never to return back.

How to take advantage of the back button?
All internet users know how to use the back button. And they will do so if they want to no matter how much you resist. Therefore, you should make it work in you favor rather than making useless attempts to block their controls.

Here is how you can do it:

• Place the company logo or branding near the back button. So that even when people begin to leave by clicking the back button, they will see your company branding there and make a note of the same.

• Make the company logo clickable along with other text elements in the upper left area. This way even if by chance they click on it, they will land on some other useful part of your website.

• Include a ‘how to’ link on your website. This is to guide visitors coming through search engine results to easily navigate the website and find information that they need.

By: Maneet Puri

Website Design Articles - http://articles.jdapublishing.com/

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Author's Profile: Maneet Puri

Maneet Puri leads LeXolution IT services, a leading web development company in India that provides world class website design services and KPO solutions to its clients. Maneet has many years of experience in the website design and development industry and writes many articles about the trends and technologies therein. He also maintains a blog at www.lexolution.in/blog.

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