Anyone who has read the 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe' will be aware of the term 'Expect the Unexpected' which as the books points out is a contradiction in terms. Another famous expression in the book is 'Don't Panic'. Both these phrases are of use when considering how to lay out a web page as they both have lessons to tell...
The problem is that even though web users may well expect the unexpected (you come across some strange things whilst surfing) they will in most cases not like it very much. So if you go and place your navigation on the right hand side of the screen, or in extreme cases have the user chase it around the screen with their mouse, they are likely to leave. In short people on the web expect things in certain places and that is as they say that.
As to the second term, Don't Panic, I'm afraid that faced with something unexpected or 'too hard' most users will indeed panic and leave your site. You are after all always just a 'click away from disaster' (disaster being in this case the user leaving before looking / buying) so my advice is don't push your luck.
The Moral of the tale is therefore to do things in the way people expect, that way you don't shake their confidence in the site and better still, you make it easier for them to find what they want on your site and that can only be good news for sales.
More Tomorrow
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