Tips Design Wep Page > Navigation - Lesson 01

Check yout Link
OK, it's a cliché. But anyone who surfs the web will agree. Check your links frequently. Don't just check them to avoid 404 errors. You might find that an external link still works but that the content behind it has changed.

Use Explicit Addressing
Navigation should be clear. Links like Back, Next, Previous, or clickable images of arrows, do point in an unclear direction. What is 'Back'. The page your visitor came from? The preceding page in your own website? Make navigation clear by supplying links.

Always Supply Textual Links
Supply textual links. Using only clickable images or image maps makes your site unusable for anybody that disables images.

Supply A Link To Home
In the rare case people get lost in your site, a link to home comes in handy. Supply such a link on each page.

Use Navigational Aids At The Top And The Bottom
Supply navigational aids at the top and the bottom of your page. If you do, people probably won't need to scroll to navigate.

Use A Table Of Contents
Do use a table of contents, preferably as a menu. Without it your visitors will get lost.

Create A “What's New” Page
Returning visitors are interested in the latest additions on your site. Create a What's new page to supply that info.

Use Short Routes
Supply short routes to information. Avoid too many menus and submenus, instead use larger menus with more items. People will appreciate it getting to the desired info quickly.

Keep Menu Items Related
Menu items should be related, don't mix them randomly. Try to share comparable items in one menu. You can use a larger menu for more item groups if you separate these groups in a clear way.

You Can Not Change Link
Figure out a good addressing scheme and stick to it. People will create links to your site. Be sure not to break these links.

You Can Not Link To Irrelevant Pages
Use only hyperlinks within the context of your page. People will feel lost if you try to use too many links.

You Can Not Repeat Links Too Often
You shouldn't repeat links in the text. I.e. you have a page about beekeeping and want to link it to to a page that describes different kinds of honey. Then don't link every occurrence of the word honey.
The only exception are links in a menu. You can repeat menulinks, i.e. on the top and on the bottom of your page.

You Can Not Use Ambivalent Navigation
Navigation must be clear. Unless you run some kind of experimental site be sure to avoid experimental buttons that make visitors have to guess what they mean.

You Can Not Create Dead End Pages
A dead end page is a page that is linked to by other pages but itself has no links. A visitor gets trapped in a dead end page and needs his back button to get away. Don't use dead end pages.

You Can Not Make Prisoners
You can imprison your visitors. I.e. by redirecting them to a page without taskbars and icons. But your prisoner will escape eventually and never return.

You Can Not Frame Other Sites
You can load pages from other sites within a frame of your own site.