5 things I’ve learned about effective hierarchy in design
1. If five people shout over each other, you won’t hear any of them.
But if they take it in turns to speak, then you’ve had time to digest the information.
When working with larger brands, it’s so common that their homepage will be chockablock with auto-scrolling carousels and content blocks. And when boiling it down to why, it’s to make stakeholders happy, rather than their customers. This solution usually exists so that they’re able to tell that department, or that boardroom member - 'yes, we’re calling out your message on the homepage’.
But the irony is that this actually dilutes the messages. Unless this is done incredibly thoughtfully, the users are less likely to have the confidence to progress to the next page.
2. Something has to go last.
That takes confidence in your brand offering. Now more than ever, customers like brands who are sure of what they offer, and what stand for. You might have five different messages that you’re desperate to communicate, but rather than trying to cram them all into the same space (I’m looking at you, carousel) why not think about it from your customer’s point of view.
Are you answering:
What do you sell / do?
This could be written, or communicated through photography. But make it clear, so that when people land on your homepage, they know they’re on the right website!Who are you for? Who is your customer, or your niche audience?
Frame your brand somehow - make the user feel at home here.What problem do you, or your products, solve?
If you’re a service business, preach results! If you’re a product business, use customer reviews.What are you expecting me to do next?
Make sure there are clear CTAs (Calls To Action, or buttons) throughout your content. There’s no point getting a customer on side, but then leaving them lost.
Anything not answering these questions should go last.
3. People like hand holding more than they think they do.
Providing a choice of content is useful, but don’t be afraid to take the reins and guide them through your brand.
Think about creating a narrative and a journey, almost as you would if someone walked into a physical shop, or came knocking on your office door. You’d ask what they were looking for, and if they couldn’t clearly communicate it, you’d perhaps show them around, tell them about who you are and what you offer, what your most popular options are, and why they might find one thing more useful than the other.
Creating structure makes it more frictionless for your users to browse - make it easier for them to fall in love with your brand!
4. Keep it concise, and link out.
Consider signposting content that deep dives into one of the topics that are cluttering up your page. This is particularly important when thinking about a PDP (Product Details Page), where you want to communicate a lot of different things. Having ‘read more’ links that open in-page is often a neat solution, or having snippets of relevant blog content that link away if they’re interested in reading more (- remember to bring them back again, too).
Create a journey, rather than a list of elements. There’s benefit to keeping it clean, but making it clear where they can find answers.
5. Your brand becomes more recognisable.
By defining things like:
Your H1 (main header) text style
The colour of primary buttons vs secondary buttons
Which patterns are used for editorial content
- people instinctively start to recognise a page or a piece of design that is belonging to your brand. I always get a buzz when friends and clients send me Instagram posts or adverts for other brands saying that they look like my brand - by being confident in your design choices, your customers will start to get to know you better.
And, as an added bonus, your brand starts to look and feel organised. Your users will thank you for making their experience easier!