Designing Web Navigation

SUMMARY

The definition of successful navigation is relative to the site type, business objectives, and user goals. Still, there are basic qualities of navigation and evaluation tools that predict its effectiveness across situations.

A good navigation structure is balanced between breadth and depth. It doesn't require unnecessary clicks or pages to reach target content in the site. Generally, but not always, broader structures work better than deeper ones. Chapter 8 contains more detail on structuring information to help you decide which approach is best for your site.

On the Web, it's safe to assume that people won't want to spend a great deal of time learning how to use a navigation system. Don't leave visitors guessing what to do with overly clever mechanisms or ambiguous labels. As discussed in Chapter 5, clear labeling is essential to the success of navigation.

Be reasonable—not rigid—about consistency. You need to vary the position, color, labeling, and the amount of navigation presented to create a sense of movement through a site. In evaluating navigation, focus on how inconsistencies are used, and determine if they help or hurt the navigation experience.

Clarity and visual logic is important for effective navigation. Provide clear feedback as to location within the site and provide effects such as rollovers to help users select and click navigation. People will make out the intent of mechanisms quickly and automatically. The visual hierarchy you create then guides them on how ...