Home
>
Web Design
>
Immutable Laws Of Effective Navigation - Part 1

Immutable Laws Of Effective Navigation - Part 1

The first immutable law of effective navigation: It's gotta be readily available.

Visitors should not have to hunt for your navigation or wonder where to find it. If you've done your job right, it will be right there when they are ready for it.

The struggle in creating good navigation is to figure out what type of navigation the visitor is going to need, when he is going to need it, and where the most effective placement will be.

Basically, you have to anticipate your visitors needs and have a solution ready.

Here are four key areas where you can squeeze out the most effectiveness:

1. Global navigation.

Global navigation is a set of links to all the main areas of your site that is available on every page of the site in the same place. Global navigation is a must-have, because it gives visitors ready access to the key areas on your site.

If you don't have this type of navigation, visitors tend to get lost. They lose their ability to easily move around between the main sections.

When you use global navigation, visitors develop a sense of familiarity with your site because the site is consistent. When they need to find something, they know right where to look for it.

Global navigation should be across the top of the page or down the left side, since these two places are where visitors will look first.

Also, it's crucial that global navigation be in the first fold of the page. This means it needs to be visible in the first window the visitor sees before they scroll down. Since these options represent the most crucial sections of your site, it's imperative that visitors see them immediately. Never put your main navigation below the fold.

2. Spotlighted navigation.

On many sites, there are a few navigation options that get the spotlight in the center of the main page. The concept is great--hook visitors with the key areas right up front.

However, many people completely miss the boat because they focus on the wrong links. Frequently, they link to the company history or the mission statement.

Wrong focus. Visitors don't care.

You have to concentrate on what's important to your reader and what they want to see. What are the most important places visitors are likely to go on your site? Which pages are really crucial? Put those things front and center.

As with global navigation, all spotlighted links should also be above the fold. This point might seem obvious, but I've seen quite a few sites recently that almost hide the important links. They are buried too far down in the site.

One site in particular placed the two most important links at the bottom of the page, completely out of site. Big mistake: visitors just won't see them.

Although navigation usually shouldn't be the primary focus of your page (that honor belongs to content), it should be given a prime position.

3. Contextual navigation.

Contextual navigation refers to links that give more info about something specific the visitor is trying to do.

On every page of your site, you'll have to anticipate the questions a visitor is going to have. Figure out what kind of additional information they might need. Then provide links to that information at the precise place that they will have the question.

One good rule is that any time you refer to information on another page of your site or on a third party's site, link directly to that info. Don't make them hunt and peck trying to find it for themselves. Make it readily available.

4. Bottom-of-the-page navigation.

Whenever the visitor gets to the end of a page, they are left hanging. They have finished whatever it is they were working on, and now they need somewhere else to go.

This is a critical moment, because it is terribly easy for a visitor to leave if you don't give them somewhere to go. It is your responsibility to point them in the right direction.

Never, never, never leave visitors without suggestions at the bottom of a page.

If possible, you should try to decide on 1-3 places that the visitor is most likely to want to go next. Think about your most important goals for them. Then guide them in that direction.

Always make sure there is at least one link at the bottom of a page.

You must make it easy for visitors to do what you want them to do. Always ask yourself...

Where are my visitors going to need a link and how can I make that link really obvious to them?

About The Author

There are 605.6 million people online. Can they find your business? Jamie Kiley creates powerful and engaging websites that make sure YOUR company gets noticed. Visit www.kianta.com for a free quote.

Get a quick, free web design tip every two weeks--sign up for Jamie's newsletter: www.kianta.com

www.kianta.com

home sanitizing services Buffalo Grove ...

In The News:

Ahold Delhaize's cybersecurity incident knocked online ordering and digital coupons offline at Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant Food stores.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Amazon's About You feature includes personality details from your shopping history, and some shoppers are finding hilariously awkward results.

Identity theft recovery starts with securing bank accounts, freezing credit and enabling two-factor authentication within the first 24 hours.

Apple's $299 HomeView smart display uses facial recognition to personalize screens for up to six household members and show live security camera feeds.

Domonique DuBose spotted red flags when a man on Hinge with 85,000 followers and a blue checkmark claimed to be a San Francisco 49ers player.

Your phone's location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies and places of worship. The FTC took action against data brokers selling this data.

Hackers targeted Danfoss refrigerator controls across French supermarkets, forcing chains like Carrefour and Monoprix to discard massive food stocks.

iOS 27 finally lets iPhone Shared Albums store photos and videos at full resolution in iCloud, but new items count toward the owner's storage.

A fake Facebook Marketplace text scam uses your real name as the seller to trick you into replying, and Malwarebytes warns even one response helps.

The Pentagon data breach exposed 2.76 million Social Security numbers and military records, raising long-term identity theft concerns for veterans.

Kodiak AI plans to haul IKEA freight on Texas highways with no one in the cab, raising urgent cybersecurity and safety questions for drivers.

Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 adds Extend and Reframe tools to Photos, letting iPhones generate new background areas beyond your original borders.

Microsoft's X account was hijacked to promote a crypto pump-and-dump scheme, exposing its more than 13 million followers to a scam campaign.

Scammers can combine your name, phone number and address with data breach details to attempt SIM swaps, phishing and even identity theft schemes.

ChatGPT Work, Meta Muse and Gemini Spark can monitor flight prices, sort your email inbox and track important deadlines, but savvy users start small.

iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel each hide a built-in tool that turns a video frame into a separate photo without any screenshot needed.

Operation KillSwitch dismantled KillSec's ransomware infrastructure, but investigators say a 16-year-old allegedly ran the entire cybercrime operation.

The Fox News Artificial Intelligence newsletter covers where voters will decide on AI data center ballot measures and Jeff Bezos' tech vision.

Apple's Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27 can flag suspicious activity inside apps, but the setting is off by default and must be enabled.

Federal Election Commission records can expose your name, address, employer and donation history once contributions exceed the $200 threshold.

Cybersecurity expert Morgan Wright says human skepticism remains the strongest defense against AI-driven phishing scams and voice cloning fraud schemes.

iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy each handle security updates differently, and one screen saying "up to date" may not tell the whole story.

Deborah Del Mastro heard what sounded like her daughter's terrified voice on the phone, launching a five-hour virtual kidnapping scam ordeal.

Hotel TV privacy risks go beyond forgotten passwords when you sign into Netflix or other streaming apps on shared devices you don't control.

Immutable Laws Of Effective Navigation - Part 1

Web Design