Top 10 Tips on Website Navigation

Your website's navigation scheme must be clear and simple. If your users have to guess at the meaning of icons or cannot read an obscure typeface, you're making them work too hard.

1. Design your pages to load in less than 10 seconds (50Kb maximum size, including pictures).

2. Group your navigational options in relevant categories.

3. Use common names for your menu options: Home, About Us, Contact Us, Help, Products.

4. If your site uses Flash, also provide an HTML version for users who prefer a less fancy, faster site.

5. Provide simple text navigation links at the bottom of long pages, so users don't need to scroll back up.

6. Put a link to your home page on all your internal pages.

7. Display a "breadcrumb trail"; it is basically the path from the homepage to the page where you are. A breadcrumb trail looks like this: Home > Section > Sub-Section > Page, and it greatly facilitates navigation.

8. If your site is too big, provide Search capabilities. Include a search box in the upper right corner of your homepage, and a link to a Search page from your interior pages.

9. Add a site map if your site is large. This helps with the search engines too.

10. Create a custom error page that displays a simple site map with links to the main sections of your site. That way, you will not lose visitors that have followed a bad link to your site or who have misspelled your URL.

Contact InterDream Designs. Let us design a website with effective navigation for you.

- Nina Menezes

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