I know what you’re thinking – website navigation: B-O-R-I-N-G. But hear me out: it’s important. Really important actually. It’s how your website visitors find their way around your amazing content!
So here are three super quick tips for making sure your website navigation is not confusing and lets people find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.
1) Page names should be brief and self-explanatory.
This is not the time to be clever. Your page names should be so crystal clear that there will be zero doubt in someone’s mind as to what is on each page. If you can achieve that in one word that’s ideal, or hopefully two at an absolute maximum.
2) Use drop-downs only when necessary.
Do you really need that drop-down menu … do you? It’s worth asking yourself the question. I avoid dropdowns when I can because they make people think – more options, more decisions, more effort. Are there instances when it makes sense to use a drop-down menu? Of course, but they’re often a “cure all” for people who have entirely too many pages on their website in the first place. Think quality over quantity.
3) Exact same place on every page.
Your navigation is like your website’s anchor – it holds everything together. If your navigation menu moves from one place to another depending on what page your visitor is on, it’s extremely disorienting and confusing. Make sure that their lifeline – your navigation menu – is always there for them, in plain sight, and in a totally consistent location.
If you follow the three guidelines above, your site visitors will thank you!
