If your site visitors can't find the information they need, it might as well not be there at all. If they have a hard hunt to find what they need, they're likely to give up and go elsewhere.
A visitor to your site should never get stuck in a dead-end with nowhere to go, because their most likely option is then to leave the site. Gradually encourage your visitors deeper into your site, make them comfortable, and offer them short-cuts to related subjects, products and services
Sign-posts aren't only important to tell the user where they are going, but where they are now. For example, if there are five steps in an order process, label them, number them and highlight the current step.
There are many ways to navigate, and site visitors should have a range of ways to reach their treasure:
The most important links pages on your site will be as easy to find, as if they were marked with a big red cross. Don't just rely on a user stumbling across them: shout about them! Feature them on the home page, in your site news and perhaps in the navigation bar of every page.
If your web site is doing its job well, your customers arrive quickly at their destination so quickly, that they will be well enough disposed to favour you with a purchase, a recommendation or an sales enquiry when they get there. An excellent site will make sure they have the possibility to do all those things, directly from that page.
