Web Site Navigation Systems

In the beginning (about 1970), the idea of ​​a hyperlink (a way to jump to any content at any point in the World-Wide-Web from a simple link on a web page) looked very cool! So cool in fact that amateur web designers of the day (there were not even professionals) connected everything to everything in their zeal to exploit this exciting new technology. As the Internet grew, however, indiscriminate use of hyperlinks has caused chaos and surfers get lost in the network. Professional web developers had to find a better way to provide surfers with an easy and direct access to the contents of a web site.

The menu bar on Web sites commonly seen today evolved from this need.

Yet the most common mistakes made in Web sites today is the misuse of hyperlinks and poorly designed navigation systems.

To avoid these errors, follow these rules:

1. The menu bar should appear in the same position consistently on every page of the website. A menu bar that moves, changes its appearance, or sometimes completely disappears, is confusing and disconcerting to visitors and is a dead give-away display of an amateur Web site.

2. Links to all pages should be in the menu bar, not embedded in the pages, or lost in the text. Do not hide your content! If it deserves a separate page on your website, then it deserves a place on the menu bar. Do not expect a visitor to read the pages again just to get a connection.

3. Feedback (such as rollovers) should be used to indicate the links active and successful one click. Too often it is not immediately clear which elements are able to click (hyper-linked) and which are not. Use a clear and consistent style for links and headings, and make sure that the links change the cursor passes over them.

4. Please indicate which page the visitor is viewing highlighting the menu item. Knowing where you are is the key to get where you want to go. Mall Maps are examples of this concept. There is usually a big red 'X' and 'You are here' caption clearly. Imagine making sense of one of these maps without this reference point, and we understand the need for a similar device on the menu bar of the web site.

5. Name every link appropriately, call it what it is, be specific and use the conventions. Do not be cute, or verbose, or try to be original for the sake of originality. Visitors do not know your business, to use a language that lay people understand, even if it is not 100% accurate. Also, do not use hidden menus that are revealed only when you move the mouse over them! Who thought that one up anyway?

6. Targeted links, e-mail links, PDF links, link media, and especially off site links, should be marked and should not be on the menu bar. The menu bar is for pages with the rest of the site. Links to sections of a long page should only be on the same page, usually at the top, so that visitors can easily jump down to the content they want. Links to other types of content must be clearly marked so visitors will know in advance what will happen if the link is clicked. For example, if the 'Contact Us' link on the menu bar is actually an e-mail, the visitor who just wanted to see where they were, get an amazing launch of their e-mail program instead!

7. There should be one main navigation bar. Provide a single path through your website makes finding information, and then find it when needed, simple and easy to remember. More menu bars - especially with redundant elements add to the confusion, confusion, headaches and maintenance to your site.

Back2Front has done extensive usability research to develop these rules and has created many successful websites that follow them. Break these rules at your own risk!...