Importance Of A Good Site Navigation

My Top 3

More often than not, web site owners start building their web site before they map out the navigation. You must understand that unlike books which follow a basic structure where one chapter follows another, web sites that have more than a few pages can become a tangled mess if they are not properly planned.

So, before you start building your site, it is a good idea to map out your navigation structure on paper first. Consider the following steps:

• list all the things you want to include, then only decide what and how the navigation of your homepage will look like. Then draw out your homepage and then for each link to a new page, draw another page on a separate piece of paper. Lay all the sheets like a pyramid with the homepage (index page) at the top and try moving from one page to the next; to determine if it’s easy or hard. Mapping your navigation on paper like this will help you catch issues with navigation before they become problems.
• ensure to minimize the number of clicks your visitors will have to make to accomplish the key goals on your site. Web surfers are impatient, so you cant assume they will take any extra trouble to find your information or offer.
• avoid unnecessary layers to your site. The further the visitor has to dig into your site, the less likely they’ll complete the action you want them to make. There’s no reason to have your product buried in a separate section - or layer - when you can feature them right on the homepage.
• keep your navigation consistent; the same size, color, and in the same place on every page of your site.
• choose where to place the navigation bars. The two most common locations for navigation bars are horizontally along the top of the page ( below the logo, or vertically along the left of the page.
• decide how your navigation will look like. It’s a good practice to show only the main links and name your navigation links clearly. The standard ways to show the main sections of your site are tabs, drop-down menus and roll-over menus.

Remember, navigation needs to be clear, unambiguous and consistent throughout your site. The language you use should leave no doubt what the visitor will find when they click it.

Finally, test that your site works in various types and versions of browsers and different types of computers, or all your work could be wasted.