| As people "browse" the Web, they "land" on a page | | | | embedded links to lead your visitors to information |
| and "navigate" on a website. To find their way | | | | that is somewhere else on your website or on a |
| around they need a "navigation" system. Navigation is | | | | different website. But if you need to link to another |
| as important for web design as for a real life drive: | | | | website use a target="_blank" approach that will |
| when you drive on a new road you want to see | | | | open the link in a new window. That's how the |
| clear marked destinations, exits and parking lots. You | | | | visitors will not lose the path back to your website. |
| want to know where you are and where you go. So | | | | Many times web designers use a mix of the three |
| do your visitors. Fail to provide a clear road map and | | | | navigational styles, depending on the size of a |
| they will go back to where they came from. | | | | website, its categories and the importance of these |
| Navigation should be clear and simple. Or better: | | | | categories. As a rule all sites have a global navigation |
| standard. That means: don't go around renaming | | | | principle: the navigation bar. Standard placements of |
| buttons. Use "home" for your index; not "back to | | | | the navigation bar are on the top or along the left |
| base". Although this "back to base" is rather clear, not | | | | side of the screen. Some designers place the nav bar |
| all the web users are in the mood for riddles, nor do | | | | on the right side - but users are not really familiar |
| they have the time to start learning your rules, your | | | | with this approach. The worse practice is promoted |
| style, or your symbols. | | | | by flash designers who ignore web usability standards |
| There are three major types of navigation: global, | | | | and make the visitors "guess" where the links are. |
| local and hierarchical. | | | | No matter where you want to place the nav bar, |
| Web designers use global navigation for medium-sized | | | | remember: keep it simple. Take a look at the |
| and small websites to categorize the main points of | | | | websites of big corporations. For example Philips |
| interest. Hierarchical navigation refers to large | | | | placed the nav bar at the top to define the main |
| websites - such as web directories, article directories, | | | | categories and uses a java script to help users |
| news portals and so on. This approach is somehow | | | | navigate to particular points of interest. On secondary |
| confusing for web novices: they cannot really find | | | | pages Philips is using a left navigation bar. All in one, |
| their way, especially when the navigational structure | | | | the web designers that created the website for |
| is not clear (some web designers omit important | | | | Philips used all three major types of navigation, but |
| navigational elements such as "you are here", "back", | | | | the design respects one radical principle: "Sense and |
| "next page" etc.) | | | | simplicity". That's right: Philips' slogan applies perfectly |
| One important note about local navigation: it works | | | | as a fundamental rule when it comes to web design. |
| great when you need cross traffic. You could use | | | | |