So, you know your client, his preferences and the emotion you want a client to feel upon entering the website. You also know how colour and shape works to create an emotional reaction in your target audience.

The next thing to think about is what navigation system you are going to use on your website.

Know thy navigation

All visitors to a website want to know exactly how to use your navigation system in approximately 27 nano-seconds. It absolutely must be well thought out, clear and consistent throughout the site. Standard positions are across the top, just below the header and on the left side – usually below a logo or header graphic.

Content is usually placed in a large central column with a right column reserved for special features, ads and subsidiary navigation systems.

You don’t have to adhere to any of these rules but if you deviate, you should do so with a strategy to back you up. You can either appear very innovative by doing something different or you can tick people off. Nobody likes feeling like an idiot and not figuring out your navigation menu is pretty much number one on the make-your-client-feel-like-an-idiot scale.

Don’t change your navigation system once you have established what it is unless you have a good strategy to justify doing so.

There is only so much room across the top of a page so If you have a lot of pages on the site and like using navigation systems that stretch across the top of the page, then consider using a drop-down menu to include links to all your pages. If your navigation system is vertically arranged on the left side of the page, then you have pretty much unlimited space to include all your links but you might again consider using a horizontal drop-down menu to list your pages into clear categories and sub-categories. Use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to create your menu systems. It is next to nothing in file size and is compatible with all major browsers.

Being able to contact you might be the first thing on somebody's mind so don't make it difficult. Put your phone number in an obvious place (and the same place) on every page. Including a small contact form in a column on the right or below your left column navigation is also sometimes a good idea if you don't need the real estate for ads.

Include a text navigation system in a footer at the bottom of every page. Search engines love text links and visitors appreciate not having to scroll up to navigate to another page. If your pages are extremely long, include a "Back to Top" link at regular intervals so a visitor can quickly reorient himself.

Previous: Know thy Shapes

Next: Typography

 

 

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