Ever come across a website that just has too much going on so you rush to hit the “back” button and click away?

Your customers may be reacting the very same way when they come across your website.

Sometimes, in an effort to build a highly effective, lead generating website, we do too much. We add a page here, another page there. A widget here and a widget there.

You add more because you think it’s important and you don’t want to miss an opportunity to convert a visitor into a lead. Except, you’re not making it easier for people to connect with you, you’re really making it more difficult.

So how do you fix things? What do you do?

Step #1. Clean up your site’s navigation.

Only link to the pages in your navigation that are absolutely essential to your product/service offering. The fewer the pages in your site’s navigation, the better. It’s easier to navigate that way.

Check your data. The data doesn’t lie.

Log into your Google Analytics account. Then, go to “Content” and click on “In-Page Analytics.” There, you’ll get a live preview of your site along with statistics on the average click-rate for each of the pages in your navigation.

If you find that people aren’t clicking on something, is it worth taking up space on your navigation? (Probably not).

Step #2. Cut down on the amount of widgets on display.

You might think you’re adding useful Calls To Action by adding more widgets to your sidebar but it’s possible that you’re really only adding noise and clutter. Just as with your navigation, the fewer items you have in your sidebar, the better.

For example, take a look at Rafal Tomal’s blog page. Notice that he doesn’t even use a sidebar. This way, he’s putting the emphasis and focus on his blog content rather than anything else.

More isn’t always better.

Step#3. Clean up your Calls To Action.

Look at your landing pages (or your product/services page) and tidy up your Calls To Action. What specifically do you want site visitors to do? Are you making it clear?

If not, what can you do to improve that page and move prospects closer to taking action on what you want them to do?

Taking My Own Advice & Putting It Into Action!

Speaking of clutter and what you can do to tidy things up, this site’s sporting a new design that includes a single-page navigation for the homepage and single-column blog layout.

There’s still a few things that need tweaking (like the scroll on the navigation menu). But hopefully, it’s easy to access new and old content and the single-column layout makes it easier to read.

Have a look around and let me know what you think…your feedback is welcome!