Why Good Website Navigation Is Important ?
Web surfers are basically an impatient bunch and if a website is
hard to figure out because the links are not obvious, they will
click away never to return. Website navigation is one of the
most crucial elements in determining the effectiveness of a
website. This article discuses the basic principle of designing
website navigation.
To be effective website navigation must first and foremost make
sense to the average person. While there is always room for
creativity, well-designed websites tend to have similar
navigation layouts.
As a web designer you must always keep in mind the basic purpose
of the website and the intended audience when designing
navigational elements. Most websites exist to either inform the
visitor about a product or service or to actually sell the
product or service. Therefore there are some basic guidelines to
follow:
Make sure all navigational elements are clearly links by using
standard conventions for links such as buttons, menus,
underlining the text or changing color on mouse. Resist the
temptation to use clever or ambiguous names for links.
When using non-conventional links, explicitly tell the visitor
that this is a link. For example, suppose you design a web page
where you want to use a map showing several different cities and
want to let the user click on the city name to pull up
information about that city. Just make sure you tell the user to
click on the city name to get more information about that city.
Remember the "Three Click Rule" that most professional web
designers use. Studies have shown that most users will not click
more than three links to get to the information they want. So
every page on your website should be reachable within three
clicks.
I do not recommend using a flash movie or other type of splash
page on your website. Keep the web page design simple yet
attractive. But if you do decide to use one, make certain you
use the META REFRESH tag to take the visitor automatically to
your home page after a few seconds and provide a clickable,
clearly marked button or link so the visitor can skip the entry
page and go directly to your home page otherwise a large
percentage of visitors will just click away never to return.
Remember most visitors are looking for information not
entertainment.
Navigation Element Locations
Top Menus - a top of the page menu bar is usually located
directly below the page header graphic that contains the site
logo. These menu items may be single links, drop down menus, or
expanding menus. Each menu item can be represented by a graphic
or just text. In ether case a hyperlink is associated with each
item that the visitor can click on to get to the information
described.
Left Side Navigation - left side navigation is typically
implemented as either a column or text area on the left top
portion of the webpage. Like the top menu, each item can be a
single link or an expanding menu.
Right Side Navigation - right side navigation is not used that
often, but when used, it is implemented as a column or text area
on the top right side of the webpage. Most designers use this
area for advertisements rather than site navigation.
Bottom Menus - bottom menus can be either a menu bar or footer.
Menu bars use either graphics or text links while footers almost
exclusively use text links.
Important Navigation Elements
Internal Page Links - Every page on the website should be within
two or three clicks from the home page. Important pages should
be ONE click away. The type of website will determine which
links are more prominently displayed.
Login Boxes - login boxes should be prominently displayed.
Common locations are top left, top right or inside the page
header.
Shopping Carts - if you use a shopping cart to sell your
products, you should prominently display a view cart button on
each page. The most commonly used location is the top right side
just below or as part of the header.
Order Buttons - if you use individual order buttons they should
be large and visible. The fewer clicks it takes to get to your
order page, the more orders you will get.
Breadcrumbs - breadcrumbs are both links and a graphical
representation of where you are in the site. Breadcrumbs are
usually located at the top left of the page just under the
header. Each word is a link back to the previous page. They are
in the form
Home-> Articles-> Marketing
External Links - external links can be used anywhere but are
most frequently used inside the text areas on a website. They
may be references to more information located on another site,
to recommended products, or to almost anything else.
Advertisements - advertisements are usually either a graphic or
text with an associated hyperlink. Ads can be placed anywhere on
a webpage but are usually used just under the header banner,
down the right hand side of the page, under navigation elements
on the left margin, across the bottom of the page or even
interspersed within the test areas of the page. Studies show
that ads "above the fold" are more effective. ("Above the fold"
refers to the area of a webpage that is visible without having
to scroll.)
Downloadable Items - if you offer downloadable items such as
audio, video or pdf files, make sure that you tell the user haw
big the file is and whether they need an application to use the
file. If they do an application, provide a link to the
application. For example, provide a link to the free Acrobat
reader if you offer pdf files.
Site Map - A site map is a good way to layout your entire site
for your visitor. (Search engine spyders like them too.) It is
just a hierarchical listing of every page on your site with a
clickable hyperlink to that page.
Summary
A good navigation system can increase the numbers of pages
viewed by each visitor. This in turn can increase signups,
customers, sales, members or whatever it is your site is
designed to do and make your website more successful.