Designing Web Navigation

SUMMARY

Links are the basic currency of the Web. They tie two pieces of web content together in a meaningful way. This is a powerful concept. Web navigation is a systematic organization of links to provide access to information and to make meaningful associations. Navigation plays a key role in our overall web experience. It would be hard to image the Web without it.

But it's not just that navigation provides access to information. It's how navigation provides access that's important. Browsing a site is a different experience than just searching it, for instance. Navigation provides context and understanding. Showing users where they are on your site helps orient them, not only within the structure of a site but also within the meaning of the content. Navigation reveals a site's thematic scope and it's relevance to a particular need.

Web navigation also plays a role in expressing a brand. It communicates corporate priorities and values through categories, the order of options, and the tone of the labels. Well-structured navigation also contributes to the overall credibility of a web site. People seem to trust a site that appears clearly organized with an easy-to-use navigational structure. Finally, web navigation can have a financial impact. The cost of finding information is high, and the cost of not finding information is perhaps even higher.

Web navigation design is necessarily a multidisciplinary endeavor. You must consider business goals, technology constraints, and content. More ...