Over the past few months with reviewing people's websites, it became evident that one of the issues that often crops up is the set-up of the navigation.
Part of having a great website design is to ensure that your site not only looks attractive but also is accessible and functional. This will lend to the overall effectiveness and quality of your website.
The navigation pathway is one of the crucial elements that we must remember to include when designing a website. Without a good navigation system, your visitors will feel lost and frustrated, causing them to leave your site more quickly.
A website built with quality navigation will help your visitors find information with ease. This helps to give your site a degree of professionalism. Please consider the following navigation tips:
1. Ensure that your navigation is visible, accessible and consistent.
The best placement for your navigation is either along the top or along the left-hand side. Keep your navigation consistent - don't vary its location or how it's set up as you go from page to page.
2. Less is more!
This advice is two-fold. When designing your website, if you have a lot of pages, it can be overwhelming and quite difficult to read the information available. It is best to try to stick to one row of navigation links. If you find that you are exceeding this, you could end up having the navigation links run into the body of your text. We suggest using one the following options: Submenus, Flyover Menus , or Subpages. When setting up more than one level of navigation, it should not take the visitor more than 3 clicks to get to the information needed. Be sure to keep this in mind!
3. Link names matter.
The names of your navigation links should be short, descriptive and clear. Your visitors should be able to find the information they need just by glancing at your navigation.
4. Always provide a way back home.
No matter which pages your visitors go to, always ensure that there is a way for them to return to your home page! You don't want to leave your visitors stranded and stuck!
Part of having a great website design is to ensure that your site not only looks attractive but also is accessible and functional. This will lend to the overall effectiveness and quality of your website.
The navigation pathway is one of the crucial elements that we must remember to include when designing a website. Without a good navigation system, your visitors will feel lost and frustrated, causing them to leave your site more quickly.
A website built with quality navigation will help your visitors find information with ease. This helps to give your site a degree of professionalism. Please consider the following navigation tips:
1. Ensure that your navigation is visible, accessible and consistent.
The best placement for your navigation is either along the top or along the left-hand side. Keep your navigation consistent - don't vary its location or how it's set up as you go from page to page.
2. Less is more!
This advice is two-fold. When designing your website, if you have a lot of pages, it can be overwhelming and quite difficult to read the information available. It is best to try to stick to one row of navigation links. If you find that you are exceeding this, you could end up having the navigation links run into the body of your text. We suggest using one the following options: Submenus, Flyover Menus , or Subpages. When setting up more than one level of navigation, it should not take the visitor more than 3 clicks to get to the information needed. Be sure to keep this in mind!
3. Link names matter.
The names of your navigation links should be short, descriptive and clear. Your visitors should be able to find the information they need just by glancing at your navigation.
4. Always provide a way back home.
No matter which pages your visitors go to, always ensure that there is a way for them to return to your home page! You don't want to leave your visitors stranded and stuck!