User experience matters the most in website design, and when designing for better user experience websites, the aspect of navigation is the most important consideration. In plain words, navigation is one of the most critical elements of web design as per the admission of the experts a web design, and SEO company.
The website is a medium for communicating with your customers effectively so that they can interact closely with your business just in the way they would speak to you. The website creates the online identity of the business organization and responsible for attracting people first and then arousing their interest to engage with the site and finally driving them to take some action that converts visitors into customers. But visitors need to be very comfortable when browsing the website so that they know exactly how to explore the entire site and easily find the solutions that they are looking for.
The purpose of the website navigation structure
Web designers in Warrington, such as Blue Whale Media, use various techniques to improve website navigation by infusing intuitive elements in the navigation structure, which act like road signs and help visitors to find their way from one destination to another they would do with a map on the road. Besides assisting the visitors to move in the right direction when hopping between destinations, the road signages do much more. Signages even make visitors aware of some important landmarks that they may not have listed in their tour itinerary but could now visit and derive immense pleasure. It is like a bonus. In the same way, website navigation help visitors to figure out how to access your blog, e-mail subscription sign up page, or product listings. The philosophy of website navigation is to allow visitors to land on any page of the website and then find their way to other pages logically.
The navigation structure not only makes visitors aware of where to find information but also tells what lies ahead. A strong website navigation structure aids the decision-making process of visitors so that they can reach the desired page where they find the content they are looking for.
User experience and website navigation
How a visitor perceives your website in terms of usability and aesthetics, it amounts to user experience. Visitors must start liking your website right from the time they look at it for the first time, and the website design is mainly responsible for creating the vital first impression that plays a critical role in user experience. Soon after, visitors would depend on the website navigation structure to explore the entire website, and the design elements should create a smooth browsing experience so that visitors can easily find the pages or content of their interest.
The experience they gather in the process is the user experience, which depends on various elements of design like fonts, images and colors, headlines and CTAs, page load time, form design, contact information, and many more. Good website navigation leaves users happy and creates a better user experience.
Types of website navigation
Menus and sub-menus are the most visible website navigation features in addition to icons, images, and buttons, scrolling or clicking, and linked text.
Menus – When we talk about website navigation structure, menus come to the mind first because it is the place from where the tour begins. The menu is important because it displays the hierarchy of the website and helps users move back forth across the site in the way they want. The most common types of menus are drop-down menus, top and side menus, thumb zone menus, and side-scrolling content or carousel. Where to position the menus and the type of menu to use depends on your goals, the audience, and their needs.
Icons, buttons, and images – Buttons, icons, and images are also very popular forms of website navigation. Clickable images are attractive and eye-catching and especially useful on mobile devices for use in case study landing pages and on blogs. Buttons are much self-revealing navigation elements that users can understand very easily. Buttons can help your website visitors to move forward. Users are familiar with various icons used for navigation. They know that they can access the settings by clicking on the gear icon, and by clicking on the shopping cart icon, they can start their purchasing journey. Icons are types of utility navigation that house various tools related to the website.
Linked text – This is a standard type of navigation created with minimal effort and helps users to move across the website laterally. Linked text is associative navigation that prods users to click on a link to view similar content.
In addition to the above, there are some other types of navigation – external links to other resources, table of contents, and links between the primary landing page with other landing pages or content.
Best practices of desktop navigation
Navigation must be simple and have a menu that is easy to understand with multiple levels but not too many. Limiting the number of primary navigation options improves wayfinding and offers a better user experience. Breadcrumbs are examples of simplicity in navigation as it allows users to return to previous content without pressing the back button. Hover previews are becoming very popular, and you can use it in the linked text within articles.
The hamburger menus that typically exemplified collapsed menus are now slowly fading away as users are more comfortable to click and move forward. To make good use of navigation for better user experience, the focus should be on aiding them to find their way across the website by helping them decide the next move. The labeling must be clear and accessible, the navigation logical and consistent, and there should not be any obscurity in using animations, designs, and placement.
Best practices of mobile navigation
Mobile navigation is relatively new and still evolving, which is quite natural as newer mobile devices pose fresh design challenges to create the most satisfying user experience, even if it is not the best. In the beginning, collapsed menus used to be the staple choice, and users became habituated to it. But its application on mobile devices seems quite impractical as it requires multiple tapping on mobile devices. Instead, a strong footer with accessible navigation is more relevant for mobile users who prefer to make their decisions there. Studies show that the use of footer navigation is much higher than header navigation.
Thumb zone menu placement is a popular choice for mobile devices over top and side menu bars, especially for the younger audience as well as B2C audiences.
The golden rules of navigation design
When designing the website navigation structure, you must keep away from the lure of aesthetics to satisfy your design aspirations and focus on what your audience is comfortable with by considering their design needs. The audience-first approach is the way to create the right kind of navigation that enhances user experience.
The navigation must be simple, with only a few steps. Too many steps would frustrate users and result in drop-offs. Make use of the known and widely used design concepts and parameters instead of trying to experiment with something new that users are not familiar with. This is important to ensure that users feel comfortable dealing with the navigation instead of having to scratch their heads. You can make users learn something new only if it is a dire necessity, but be sure that they would not mind to spend time for it or else the scheme may backfire.
The future of navigation design
As mobile search is now at the forefront and will remain so, web designs are set to revolve around the mobile content structure. Most businesses are adopting the conversational content journey that is also scannable. Google’s Mobile-first indexing has made it clear that websites must be fast-loading and mobile-friendly to earn higher rankings, while websites that fail to comply with these requirements will face a decline in ranking. The amount of website content will keep reducing, which will reduce the need for varied and complex navigation. While websites will continue to remain more centralized hubs for brand experience and content, mobile users are going to engage more with brands on social channels.
To create a website navigation structure that meets user expectations, you must be careful to avoid some mistakes, the fist being unclear navigation location. This can happen if the expandable menu is hidden in the design elements or located in an obscure place. The objective of icons and buttons must be clear to users, and there must be just a few menus on a page. Too many options make things unclear, and if users are not sure about it, they will not use it. The last thing to avoid is information overload on the menu. Make sure that the drop-down menu is un-cluttered because giving too many instructions may confuse and annoy users.
Despite all the guidelines, you must consider your audience first to ascertain how they are navigating your website and what improvements in navigation could make it more convenient for them.
