7 Best Web Design Navigation Practices
Here are a few tried-and-true suggestions for improving the usability of the navigation on your website.
1. Carefully
plan your website's navigation system.
Your website's
goals should be taken into consideration when creating the navigation menu. Are
you attempting to persuade the visitor to get in touch with you for more
details? Are you attempting to sell something? Or does your website offer
insightful content that positions your business as a subject-matter authority?
The navigation structure will need to be approached differently in each of
these various scenarios.
2. Set Menu Items in Priority
The navigation
structure of your website should function like a funnel, with visitors entering
at the top and being guided to whatever they are looking for. For instance,
your menu should have a clear priority, with the most crucial options standing
out. It's helpful to know that the items on the menu that are close to the top
and bottom get the most attention from customers in this regard. Therefore, the
most crucial pages ought to be listed here. You shouldn't anticipate receiving
many messages if your "Contact Us" link is located somewhere around
the middle of a 30-item drop-down menu.
3. Create
separate menus for each category of visitor.
The best choice
might be to place these two options in a very prominent location on the home
page if you're trying to reach different audiences with the same website, such
as employers and job seekers. This will spare one group of customers from
having to sift through countless menu options that aren't appropriate for their
needs at that specific time. A notable example of a major brand using this
tactic on its website is The Muse.
4. Include Site
Search Capabilities
According to
research, websites with search functionality convert at a rate that is almost
twice as high as those without it. It is very logical. Your visitors' ability
to find what they're looking for on your site is greatly improved by a search
engine. The more extensive and diverse the information on your website, the
more critical the need for a site search function becomes.
5. Employ The
Hamburger Menu
Although they
first gained popularity on mobile devices (where screen space is more
constrained), hamburger menus are now frequently seen on desktop versions of
popular websites. This straightforward icon with just a few horizontal lines is
a minimalist choice that blends seamlessly into virtually any design. The
majority of visitors will know right away that this is where they should begin
their journey through your website because so many well-known companies now use
hamburger menus on their websites, for example, IKEA.
6. Check That Your Logo Refers To The Home Page
Many website
owners still make the error of failing to include a link from their company
logo on their home page. The 'Homepage' option on the site menu is not
necessary. Simply link to your website's home page from the company logo at the
top of each page. This will be completely obvious to the vast majority of
visitors because it has now been incorporated into standard web design
practices.
7. Learn About
The Advantages Of The Fat Footer
The fat footer,
also known as the mega footer, is a list of links to all of your website's key
pages. It is located at the bottom of the home screen, as its name suggests.
Although grouping related menu options together using category headings is a
better idea if there are many menu options, ordering them alphabetically is
still an option.
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