Common mistakes
No matter the organization or navigation, good website design enables users to effortlessly find information. Like turning on a light switch, elegant web navigation shouldn't be a conscious action. As when you flick a light switch and expect the lights to come on, users expect to see certain information when they click the "About" tab. Navigating websites is a learned behavior, and after countless trials, users have compiled first-hand navigation experience that helps them find content. This reinforced learned behavior helps them successfully navigate through new sites.
Intuitive navigation examples:
- All pages contain basic site navigation.
- Navigation states (on/off) and page titles are consistent and indicate the current page.
- Hypertext link naming is consistent and exclusive to associated pages.
- All navigation goes somewhere specific and is obvious to the user.
- Category naming is directly related to content type.
- Global site categories or main sections are mutually exclusive and grouped intuitively.
- Similar types of navigation elements are grouped together and treated consistently from a visual perspective, indicating link priority and grouping methodology.
- An HTML site map is included for navigation and SEO purposes.
Common navigation mistakes:
- Confusing navigation naming and grouping with inconsistent visual treatments
- Global navigation that contains too many or too few categories
- Poor page indication and confusing or nonexistent bread-crumbing
- Inconsistent visual treatment of similar navigation devices like inconsistent colors for hypertext links
- Navigation items that disappear or move around, and dead-end pages that force users to use the back button
- Pages without a clear call-to-action
- Active links to the current page
- Not linking directly to the item named
- Priority content that is buried or hard to find
- Navigation that gives users an inconsistent or poor user experience
