Your web site’s primary and secondary navigation is important to users, search engines, and the overall success of your site. User-friendly site navigation is important to help both search engine crawlers and visitors find their way through your site. Therefore, the easier you make this process, the more pages search engines will index – and the more pages your site visitors will view.
The following are key areas to consider in establishing or reviewing the navigation structure of your web site:
- Top or Top-Left: A sites primary navigation should be found at the top and bottom of the page, or along the top left side and bottom of the page. This is how users expect to find navigation.
- Consistency: Your site navigation should be consistent on every page of your site.
- Simple: Your navigation shouldn’t require much thought to use. Try to keep it as simple as possible.
- Links to Home Page: Every page of your site should link back to your home page through your logo, top/left navigation and the bottom of each page.
- Links to Contact Us Page: Every page of your site must contain a contact us link. There harder you make it to find your contact information, the less credible your site will be perceived.
- Links to About Us Page: This is another page that should be part of your navigation structure site wide. Like your contact page, the About Us page also adds to your credibility. Make sure you’re sharing your story.
- Links to All Main Sections: Your main navigation structure should link to all of your site’s primary areas.
- Indicate Current Page: Through the use of breadcrumb navigation or other means, make sure the current page is easily identified in the navigation.
- Proper Categories/Departments: If navigation is a big job for your site, take some time to think about dividing your navigation into sensible categories or product departments.
- Accurate Descriptions: Link text (or image text links) should adequately describe the destination page that the link will take your visitor to. Very few people will click on a link that doesn’t make sense to them.
- Use Alt Tags in Images: If using image-based navigation, make sure you’re using image alt text.
- Link for Experts and Newbies: Your site navigation should be just as understandable by newbies as well as experts in your industry.
Keep in mind, that the better your site navigation is thought out and implemented. The more likely search engines and visitors will access more pages of your site. How’s your navigation looking? Is it clear and easy to understand? If not, make it a priority to improve it.
