I’m currently building out a new WordPress site for my company. In the twenty years that I’ve been developing sites, the CMS has expanded with some incredible themes, plugins, and features. While I have my favorite WordPress plugins that I incorporate, I do think it’s wise to view site development quite differently than we used to.
One glaring metric central to today’s visitors continues to haunt me, even with the sites I’ve built over the years: users don’t like to have to click through to multiple pages. That means our job as digital marketers is to try to make every page an experience where the user can navigate an entire journey. That’s not an easy task, but there are many ways to incorporate navigation, information, and conversion in a single page experience. Let’s discuss this flare and provide some examples.
Mega Menus
Mega menus provide a comprehensive, organized, and visually appealing way to present many navigation options. By displaying multiple columns, images, and even embedded widgets, mega menus allow users to quickly find and access the content they need without navigating through multiple levels of a traditional dropdown menu. This enhances user experience by reducing the time and effort required to locate desired information.
A fantastic plugin for this is the Groovy Menu. The plugin integrates a post type for menu blocks that can be created using the Gutenberg editor, enabling you to have columns, dynamic content, calls-to-action, etc.
You’ll notice that our mega menu contains the latest articles in each category. Ours is built into our Jannah publisher theme.
Sticky Header
A sticky header keeps the main navigation menu constantly visible at the top of the screen, even as users scroll down the page. This improves user interaction by ensuring that important navigation options are always easily accessible, reducing the need for users to scroll back to the top of the page to find the menu. This is particularly beneficial for websites with long pages or extensive content.
When we develop business sites, we always try to keep the call-to-action (CTA) visible as the user scrolls down the page so that they can click to call, register, or add a product to the cart at any time. The Groovy Menu above offers the ability to make both the primary and top navigation bars sticky. You’ll notice that our sticky bar even updates on a single post like this to maintain the article’s title.
Infinite Scroll
Infinite scroll eliminates the need for users to click on pagination links to load more content. Instead, new content is automatically loaded as users scroll down the page, creating a seamless and uninterrupted browsing experience. This encourages users to engage with more content on your site, as they are not required to take any additional action to access it.
We utilize infinite scroll on some pages, like our author pages. On others, we still want pagination for search engines to crawl. As an example,
Off-Canvas Navigation
Off-canvas navigation is particularly useful for websites with limited screen space, such as those designed for mobile devices. By hiding the navigation menu off-screen and revealing it only when triggered, this technique saves valuable screen real estate while still providing easy access to navigation options. This allows users to focus on the main content without the navigation menu interfering, improving overall user interaction.
Parallax Scrolling
Parallax scrolling creates a visually engaging and immersive experience for users by adding a sense of depth and movement to your website. By making the background move slower than the foreground, this effect captures users’ attention and encourages them to explore more of your content. This increased engagement can lead to longer site visits and improved user interaction.
Popover Divs
Popover divs allow you to present additional information, forms, or interactive elements without directing users away from the current page. This means that users can access relevant content or take desired actions without losing their place on the page, resulting in a more seamless and efficient user experience. Popover divs are particularly useful for displaying contextual information, sign-up forms, or related content.
Microinteractions
Microinteractions are small, targeted animations or visual feedback that respond to user actions, such as hovering over a button or filling out a form. These subtle interactions enhance user experience by providing clear, instant feedback and making the website feel more responsive and intuitive. Microinteractions can also add a touch of personality and delight to your site, making it more memorable and enjoyable to use.
Real-Time Search
Real-time search with auto-complete is a powerful feature that enhances the user’s search experience by dynamically displaying relevant search results as they type. This feature saves users time and effort by providing instant feedback and suggestions, making it easier to find the content they’re looking for without completing their search query or navigating to a separate search results page. Auto-complete also helps guide users toward the most relevant search terms, improving the accuracy of their search and increasing the likelihood of them finding the desired content quickly.
We implemented Ajax Search Pro on our site, and it’s been fantastic. Since implementing, we’ve seen a 178.4% increase in users utilizing internal searches on the site. Some of the searches are driving some additional content ideas as well.
Animated Hover Effects
Animated hover effects add visual interest and interactivity to your website by providing engaging visual feedback when users hover over certain elements, such as buttons, images, or links. Add subtle animations to form elements, such as checkboxes or radio buttons, to confirm user interactions visually.
Implement small animations on buttons or icons when clicked, such as a brief color change or a slight size reduction, to acknowledge user actions. We utilize that on this site for our acronyms, eg. UX. Use animated tooltips or small informational overlays that appear when hovering over certain elements, providing additional context without disrupting the user’s flow.
These effects can help guide users’ attention to important elements and encourage them to interact with your content. By making your site more visually appealing and interactive, animated hover effects can improve user engagement and overall user experience.
Sticky Sidebar
A sticky sidebar makes important information, navigation options, or interactive elements visible and accessible as users scroll through a page’s main content. This enhances user interaction by ensuring users can easily access relevant information or take desired actions without having to scroll back up the page. This is particularly beneficial for websites with long-form content or those that rely on sidebar elements for navigation or user engagement.
Our site has an about section that can be opened with a link that slides in a sidebar. Click here.
These user interface (UI) enhancements discussed above all contribute to creating a more engaging and user-friendly experience on your WordPress website. By implementing these features strategically, you can provide users with easy access to navigation options, relevant content, and interactive elements without requiring them to navigate away from their current page.
This approach saves users time and effort and encourages them to explore more of your site’s content, ultimately leading to increased engagement, longer site visits, and improved overall user satisfaction. By prioritizing user experience and designing your website with these enhancements, you can create a more compelling and memorable online presence that keeps users returning for more.
