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Web Design Articles
How to Create an Effective Web Site Navigation Structure - Part 1
Copyright 2002 Herman Drost
A ship captain traversing the open seas without a good navigation system will
surely get lost. Maybe he’ll strike sharp rocks and his ship will sink. A
visitor who arrives at your site and can’t navigate it for the information
they seek, will surely get lost also and leave in frustration. Your ship (your
web site) will also sink if this continues to happen.
Good site design means a good navigation structure for your web site. This means
the visitor can find the information with ease.
Put yourself in the shoes of your Grandmother. Would she quickly and
effortlessly be able to find the information she wants, or know what to click on
to make the purchase? Don’t think that just because it is easy for you, it
will be easy for others.
Visitors should not need to click more than three times during their navigation,
to find the information they are searching for. 1. Navigation Styles These can
range from navigation buttons, navigation bars, plain text links, fancy animated
graphics or drop-down select menus. You can also use illustrations, photographs
or graphic images to show your visitor around. For example, an image map
contains one graphic with different “hot spots”(invisible buttons) that link
to other pages.
2. Primary and Secondary Navigation Primary navigation consists of the
navigation elements that are accessible from most locations within the site.
Secondary navigation elements allow the user to navigate within a specific
location. For example, many sites have a page that offers information about the
company. The primary navigation element may be an About Us link. Subscribe FREE
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Once the user arrives on the About Us page, there will be other links (secondary
links), which navigate within the About Us page.
These could be links to Press Releases, Corporate Locations, Investor
Information and so on. These links are secondary navigation elements because
they are relevant to the About Us page but not the other pages of the site.
Therefore, these links will not be found in other areas of the site.
3. Guided Navigation This is a popular technique, in which you guide the visitor
through your site. Links are provided for the next step and establishing links
that keep the users on track continues the process. These links should supply
the necessary information, as well as an alternate course clearly marked to
allow the visitor to exit. For example, an online purchase should lead the user
through shipping information, then on to payment information, then to receipt
information.
4. Creating a Navigation Action Plan Determine goals and needs of your audience
Decide what the purpose of your site is and who your target audience will be.
For more in-depth information on this subject visit: “How to Target Your
Customers and Put Them in a Buying Mood” (www.isitebuild.com/target.htm)
Learn from navigation that works Visit several successful sites that show good
navigation e.g., Fedex.com. These sites show good navigation planning.
Generally, good navigation includes several characteristics:
Offers easy to learn elements
Remains consistent
Provides feedback
Appears in context
Offers alternatives
Provides clear visual messages
Offers clear and understandable labels
Remains appropriate to the site’s purpose
Supports visitors goals and behaviors
Providing feedback has the biggest impact on users. Navigation should tell
people, where they are and if possible, where they have been. Visitors should
also be able to easily determine linked or clickable material.
They need to know whether they successfully made a purchase, conducted a search,
or completed some other task.
Navigation that allows visitors to find information easily and quickly will
contribute to your web site’s success. Ask your grandmother (or someone who is
not familiar with the Web) to navigate your site. If they can find the
information they want within 3 clicks, your navigation structure must be a
success. Congratulations!
Part 2 of this article will show “How to Design Your Navigation Structure and
Common Navigation Mistakes to Avoid”.
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Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of http://www.iSiteBuild.com
Affordable Web Site Design and Low
Cost Web Hosting
Subscribe to his “Marketing Tips” newsletter for more original
articles. subscribe@isitebuild.com.
You can read more
of his in-depth articles at: http://www.isitebuild.com/articles
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Article reproduced with kind permission from Herman Drost
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