In previous articles we discussed the importance of major sections and style in a good website design. This article moves us one step closer to a great website design by properly placing navigation throughout the website.
Good navigation in any website design is important because without it designed properly your website visitors would either get lost in the website complexity or lose engagement with the website.
I am going to introduce four major types of website design navigation elements and when and how they should be used.
Links:
One of the most basic types of navigation used in a website design is a link. This is basically taking a piece of text and when the visitor clicks on it will direct them to another page or section of the website.
A good practice for this in website design is when you want the visitor to click on a page that is relevant to the content (text) that it is linked to. This practice is often found in blog or article posts linking to relevant pages of the content on the website.
Menus:
Probably the most popular and most used by your visitors in any type of website design. Visitors will use the menu to get around your website so it is important that the structure of the menu is well organized. This includes having submenus to when needed, having the menu easily accessible for visitor engagement.
Buttons:
Another important navigation element in website design are buttons. These are important because buttons are easily identifiable and can be strategically used to not only navigate to other parts of the website but can be used as a call to action. Call to action is important in converting a visitor into a customer by invoking them to take action to communicate to your organization. Another great use for buttons is to retain engagement on the website. Because we have the flexibility to place them anywhere we can place them for convenience and a back up for the menu to the visitor to navigate to other parts of the website.
Breadcrumbs:
If your website design involves a large quantity of information that is complex you might want to consider including a breadcrumb navigation design in your website. Breadcrumb navigation usually appears at the top of the web page in a horizontal format. Much like spoon feeding content breadcrumbs give the visitor an idea where they are on the current content and where they can advance or go back on the feed. It’s an excellent way a presenting large quantities of content without the visitor getting lost.
Some or all of these navigation elements should be part of your current or next website design.
Is your website design using navigation properly? Not sure?
Success Media Services can help you determine if your current website is helping or hurting your business. Our website designs are not only engaging but also effective digital marketing platforms. Contact us today to see how we can help you grow your business digitally.