USER ORIENTED WEBSITE INTERFACE Website Navigation YOU ARE HERE!

WEBSITE IA & USABILITY: WEBSITE NAVIGATION

Website Navigation Must Be Tailored to Your Users' Needs

The basic purpose of website navigation is to assists the users in finding and managing information in the site. Website navigational systems are composed of sets of hyperlinks that link related pages to each other. Navigation has got an important place in website architecture. Its role is NOT to get attention, but to help the users to efficiently get where they want. That's why website navigational system should be plain and unobtrusive, until needed.

Generating a functional navigational system depends on the previously well designed website information structure. Your website navigation must be tailored to your users' needs, therefore it ought to be simple, direct, functional and informative. Well designed website navigation should inform the users:

• where they are - through impressive section headings,
• where they've been - through differently colored hyperlinks when unclicked and clicked,
• where they are going - through self-explanatory link labels and titles.

Website navigation ought to provide a variety of navigation types through the website content, as different users prefer different ways of website navigation.

Global / primary navigation bar comprise links to the high-level categories of the website. Global navigation is implemented on the top of every web page, usually below logo / banner or in the Body on the far left of the page, and often in the footer, at the bottom of each page. The convention is to begin the global navigation with a link to Home, and often to finish it with a link to Contact page, with contact information. Global navigation usually comprise a link to About page, containing information about the organization.

Local / secondary navigation bar display navigational links within a category, typically leading to pages on the same level, usually in the left area of the screen.

Utility navigation is presented as global utility bar (search, site map, etc.), often in the header, below the global navigation. Local navigation often contains utility pages, site map, etc., if there is no need for global utility bar.

The ability to search the site for specific keywords should be also included for bigger websites, with a large volume of content on a variety of topics. A search box is commonly put in the top right hand corner of every page of the website, and labeled "Search". Atomz Site Search provides search for websites with 500 pages or less, for free.

Breadcrumb Navigation is a hierarchical navigation bar , which shows the closest direct path back to the home page (like the one at the top of this page). Each link in breadcrumbs
represents a point at which the user makes a decision. Utilizing a breadcrumb eliminates the need for huge navigation bar, with links to every other page.

Site Map should be used on top of all other navigational systems you already use on your website. Your site map should be detailed, with a link to every page, and text-based, preferably with a short description of each page.

When users clicks on a link they expect to be brought to a HTML page. If it's anything else, including PDF file, you should inform users in advance, along with the type and size of file, and a link to the software (Adobe Acrobat Reader, etc.) in case the user does not have it already.

Design a navigation consistently throughout the website. Using different location for the same groups of links would confuse the readers. The same refers to link labels and titles. Using different terms for the same categories would add up to the confusion.

Follow the conventions when designing a website navigation. Conventional navigation enables your users to utilize and expand their previous experience and navigational skills.

Consistent and conventional website navigation system makes the user feel comfortable and allows them to find the content they want quickly, ensuring user satisfaction.

Navigation conventions that work:

• use top and left page areas for navigation
• global navigation visible on every page
• logo links to Home page
• Home link in the top left
• avoid labels such as "Click Here"
• provide feedback and support
• minimum clicks to next destination
• use text in your navigation
• make it readable - font face & size
• if you use graphic links, use Alt attribute
• group navigation into logical units
• don't disable the browser's back button
• avoid making the user scroll to get to important navigation
• enable users to scan and quickly identify links they want to take, etc.

User Oriented Design & Ethical Website Marketing Strategies by Distinctia, 2006