Little things make big differences. The labels and structure of website navigation has huge impact on the aesthetics of the website. A good website navigation design has many benefits. The ease-of-use of the website increases. Popular contents are easily highlighted. Improves search engine ranking. Keeps users engaged. Thus, it is important to focus on website navigation and its design. Here are the top website navigation design best practices.
Be Descriptive
Ensure the navigation menu is descriptive. It should not be vague but easy to understand. Use key phrases in navigation menu. The description labels in the navigation menu help search engines find informationeasily and therefore increases ranking.
Format Based Navigation
Avoid format-based navigation such as photos, videos, etc. They do not fullfil visitors’ needs as they search for information and answers. Visitors search for specificity in the information. Therefore, focus on topic rather than on content.
Drop down Menus
Drop down menu annoys users. Also, they are not friendly with search engines. The search engines have to crawl to fetch information from drop down menu. Avoid using drop down menu. Instead use mega drop-down menu format.
Menu items in Home Page
Limit the number of menu items in the home page (7 or less). As the number of links in the home page increases, the authority of the website with the search engine decreases. This ultimately affects the ranking of the site.
Order
Keep the website navigation in order. Generally, the human mind is focused more towards the beginning and end of a list. Make sure to include the most popular menus in these places so that they stand out to the visitors.
Optimize using analytics
Wait for a few weeks after updating the navigation design. Use “navigation summary” and “in-page” reports to compare the design. Find out which design was more frequently used by the visitors.
Mobile-friendly
Today number of people browsing on smart phones have increased. Therefore, make sure the website navigation design is mobile friendly.
Search function
Include search function in the home page. The search functions make it easy for the visitors to find the right information they are looking for.
Phrase style
Stick to a single phrase style. There are three different phrase styles. They are action-based, object-based and audience-based. Action-based phrases are well suited for business websites. The action-based phrases are “Contact Us”, “Order”, “Shop”. The examples of object-based phrases are “Store”, “Order Forms”, “Contact Info”, etc.
Audience-based phrases are used if the website targets different types of visitors. Examples are “Business Owners” or “Home Owners”.
Go by choice of the visitor
Design the navigation menu based on the wishes of the customer. The customer might want to learn about the business first, then about the products and then about the contact info. Therefore, the business details should be more easily accessible, then the products and so on.
Find ways to guide the visitors
Add a side bar that suggests other pages. Include links of other pages in each piece created. Grab every opportunity to prolong the visit of the viewer.
SEO
It is important to consider SEO strategies. However, do not try to pack keywords while designing the navigation menu. This will lead to confusing menu choices.