Navigation can be very simple, or very complex. It can be horizontal, or vertical. It can be static, or it can follow you as you scroll down a page. Because navigation can vary so much between websites, there are no set guidelines or how-to’s for organizing navigation.
Designing navigation is an art in itself, and as designers we become better at it with experience. It’s all about using good information architecture: “the art of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems.”
The best navigation designs and structures will allow your site visitors to reach the content they want to see in the least amount of effort and clicks. If they cannot get to where they want to be within a maximum of two clicks, you risk losing their business completely. Continue reading →