Designing Interfaces, 2nd Edition

Chapter 3. Getting Around: Navigation, Signposts, and Wayfinding

The patterns in this chapter deal with the problem of navigation. How do users know where they are now, where to go next, and how to get there from here?

I call navigation a “problem” because navigating around a website or application is like commuting. You have to do it to get where you need to go, but it’s dull, it’s sometimes infuriating, and the time and energy you spend on it just seems wasted. Couldn’t you be doing something better with your time, such as playing a game or getting some actual work done?

The best kind of commuting is none at all. Having everything you need right at your fingertips without having to travel somewhere is pretty convenient. Likewise, keeping most tools “within reach” on an interface is handy, especially for intermediate-to-expert users (i.e., people who have already learned where everything is). Sometimes you do need to put lesser-used tools on separate screens, where they don’t clutter things up; sometimes you need to group content onto different pages so that the interface makes sense. All this is fine, as long as the “distances” that a user must travel remain short.

So, less is better. Let’s talk terminology for a minute and come back to this concept.

Staying Found

Let’s say you’ve built a large website or application that you’ve had to break up into sections, subsections, specialized tools, pages, windows, wizards, and so forth. How do you help users navigate?

Signposts are features ...