When I was at the IANDS conference in Chicago, one of the ladies there asked me if I could show her what my website looks like. I watched her fiddle around on her phone, confused, trying to get from the Home Page to the American Girls doll clothes pattern page.
It was kind of a disaster.
So I thought, “Oh man, I’ve got to make it easier to navigate on my website.”
You may have seen that I’ve added a few navigation tutorials on my YouTube channel recently and a new “Navigation Guide” button on the Home Page, but also, I think I need to do a few cosmetic changes to ChellyWood.com.
Yesterday and today I received emails from the same person who was lost on my site, struggling to figure out how to find what she wanted.
So I’m reaching out to all of you, my regular followers, asking for advice. Think back to when you first stumbled across my website. What was difficult about navigating on my website, and what might make the experience more user-friendly?
In 2019 I did a complete overhaul of ChellyWood.com, creating the Home Page I now use and all of its myriad of links to various pages. This improved the original website which had very few buttons and images linking out from the home page. (That’s also when my color scheme changed from dusty rose to lilac and turquoise.)
However I’m going to do a little more work as we close out 2025, to make the site even more simple to navigate. Let me know what changes you’d like to see in the comments section please, so I can take your ideas into consideration as I re-vamp the overall look of the site.
Here are some more specific questions I have:
- Would it be easier if the blog posts started with text instead of an image? Would people be more likely to stay and read the text if they see text first?
- When you click on a doll size, should that send you to another button? For example, if you click on “11 inch dolls” right now, it takes you to a page with the names of dolls in alphabetical order, offering links. Would it be easier to find if I offered images instead of the names of dolls in alphabetical order?
- Is there too much horn-tooting in terms of advertising? How would you like me to mention the classes I teach, the store page on the site, and things I’m offering for sale, so it’s not annoying?
- Where do you find yourself getting lost? What pages do you have a hard time finding? And can you offer suggestions to help me place them in a location that’s easier to find when you need them?
Your input is deeply appreciated!
Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with any of the doll or toy companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly enjoys designing her doll clothes to fit a variety of dolls. To learn more about the doll companies mentioned in today’s post, please visit the doll or toy company’s website.