ISEdb.COM

A site’s navigation structure is extremely important in
providing a rich, friendly user experience. Well designed and implemented
navigation assists in the process of helping visitors identify sections and
pages of the website that interest them and then in moving them in that
direction. If you’re able to implement a solidly developed navigation system on
your site you’ll also be providing strong visual cues to the depth of content
you have available. This alone can be an immediate first-impression indicator
of trust.

When a site’s navigation is intelligent, focused and
intuitive, visitors have to think less and are able to more immediately find
what they are looking for with minimal guesswork or backtracking. This, in
turn, will most often translate into better overall conversion rates.

Navigation
usability issues

The single most important aspect of the navigation is that
it is usable to the visitors. If it’s convoluted, confusing or broken in various
ways, your users will simply abandon your site having not been able to find
what they came for.

Site wide navigation, including top, bottom and side
navigation, should be as user-friendly as possible, ensuring that what is
“expected” is implemented just as much as much what should be
obvious. The navigational elements used should reflect a logical flow of
topics, subtopics and subject matter within the site and enhance the users
ability to find key areas.

• Site
  indicators: Provide immediate indication as to what site the visitor
  is on (yours!). Typically, company logos are placed in the top left-hand corner
  of every page.
  
  
• Logo
  link: Site logo should always link back to home page. Users
  routinely click the logo as a means to return to the site’s starting
  page.
  
  
• Nav
  bar location: Location of main navigation should be near the top
  and/or left side of the page. Avoid using right-side-only or bottom-only
  navigation.
  
  
• Home
  Page link: Each page must contain an obvious (different from the
  logo) link back to the home page. Keep this in a consistent location.
  
  
• Contact
  information: Access to a “contact us” page and/or specific
  contact information should be available in an obvious location on every page
  throughout the site.
  
  
• Ease
  of use: Navigation must maintain simplicity of use. Avoid using hard
  to navigate drop-down or -out menus. If used, never allow navigation to go more
  than two sub-menus deep.
  
  
• Page
  indication: Visitors should know what page they are on and where
  they are in relation to the rest of the site. Breadcrumbs and navigation
  highlights can provide these visual indicators.
  
  
• Visited
  page indication: Let visitors know which pages they have visited
  recently. While this is more difficult to achieve with main site navigation
  blocks, it can easily be accomplished by using alternate coloring of visited
  text links.
  
  
• Site
  access: Navigation must provide intuitive and obvious links to other
  main sections and areas of the website.
  
  
• Site
  search function: For deep sites, search functions can assist with
  finding relevant information quickly. If used, the search box is best located
  top right of all site pages or in another consistent location.
  
  
• Login
  access: Sites with shopping carts, accounts or member only access
  must provide a login link and/or page. This should be available on every
  page.
  
  
• Logout
  access: Once logged in, user must be able to logout at any point.
  Maintain a logout link or button in an obvious location on every page one user
  has been logged in.

Navigation
functionality issues

The functionality of your website navigation can make or
break a site’s overall performance. Fully and properly functioning navigation
makes it easy for visitors to quickly find what areas of the site they came for
while broken navigation quickly sends visitors scurrying for the exit.

Poorly implemented navigation structures cause confusion to
site visitors and are prohibitive in getting them to the information they want
and taking the action you desire. Expertly implemented navigation allows both
users to find your sites information without having to “hunt” to the
point of frustration. Good navigation will also help search engines travel from
page to page to reach your most important information quickly and effectively.

• Consistent
  navigation: Keeping your navigation consistent, both in form and in
  placement, decreases visitor confusion and increases ability to find relevant
  information more quickly.
  
  
• Categorical
  divisions: Navigation must present clear navigational categories for
  important areas of the website. Main site sections should be separated visually
  from other areas/pages of the site.
  
  
• Clickable
  links: All elements in navigation must be active clickable links.
  When using drop down menus the main category heading must also be linked.
  
  
• Navigation
  accuracy: Visitors should have a general idea of what they should
  find before clicking any navigational link. Link text must accurately describe
  the corresponding page linked to.
  
  
• Image
  alt text: Every navigational image links should contain accurate alt
  text. Text links verbiage must accurately describe corresponding page.
  
  
• Search
  results: Search feature must adequately compensate for misspellings,
  similar products and related items. Never leave a search result as “no
  products found.”

Navigation
semantics

The words used in the navigation are important indicators to
your site visitors and should correspond tightly to the topic of the page being
linked to. When any navigation linked is clicked users must be taken to a page
that fulfills their expectations. Cryptic or misleading navigation text
confuses and annoys visitors, possibly to the point of site abandonment. Make
sure all link verbiage, whether textual or in an image, accurately portrays the
corresponding pages.

Navigational
Testing

A good way to test the effectiveness of your site’s
navigation is to go to competitor’s site and browse around. Take notes on what
you like and don’t like. Jot down any problems you run across as well as
anything that stands out as being exceptional. Once you’ve done this, then go
back to your site and perform the same navigation and note-taking process.

Once you’ve completed your navigation test runs compare
notes between your site and your competitors’. I’m sure you’ll find areas where
your navigation is better than your competitors but most certainly you’ll have
uncovered areas where your navigation is inferior.

Don’t rely solely on your own experience. Find some family,
friends, or co-workers who are both familiar and unfamiliar with your industry
and have them go through the same process above. If you need to save time, have
them just navigate your site and take notes on that alone. Undoubtedly your
users find issues that you hadn’t even thought of. These notes will probably be
a better indicator of your site’s navigation success than your own, as they
will better reflect your site’s users.