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Immutable Laws Of
Effective Navigation
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Make It Readily Available
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 sight. 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 a 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.
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