When designing a website there is lots to think about, and one of the most important parts is how users will navigate around your site. Users love simple navigation, it means they have to think less and can surf quicker. If you want users to stay on your website for a while then easy navigation is critical.

Navigation To Try And Avoid

• - Using lots of images can confuse users. For example a picture of a house to return to your homepage, it may be obvious to you what it represents but users may think its only part of the design and not click on it.
• - Don’t use javascript drop-down menus because early browsers do not support javascript so some visitors won’t be able to see the menu.
• - Don’t make the navigation text the same color & size as normal text, this looks ugly, doesn’t help users eyes and means the navigation choices don’t stand out so users move between pages less.

Navigation Recommendations

• - Use text links instead of written images. This benefits search engines and is easily editable (color, size, font) so you can change it quickly and easily so it works really well with your design.
• - Have the nav bar in one place, I can’t stand the ones that move down the page as you scroll down, they are annoying!
• - Make the navigation bar clear. You need to make it stand out enough so users see and can clearly read the links, but the colors still need to work with the design.

So remember, simplicity is the key to navigating around your site. If visitors can’t find how to navigate around they will leave in a flash meaning your site makes no money!

For more reading check out this article called Where Am I?

If you would like to keep up-to-date with our new content you can subscribe to our RSS Feed, add us to your faves or us!