This document discusses navigation and menus on websites. It defines navigation as guiding users through a website by answering where they are, where they can go, and where they have been. There are different types of navigation including global, local, contextual, supplemental like indexes and site maps, and advanced like social and personalized navigation. Well-designed navigation is important because it reflects the brand, impacts credibility and user engagement, and can increase sales opportunities.

1. Navigation & Menus
Natalie Miller
You
Are
Here

2. What is Navigation?
Navigation should (minimum) answer these
fundamental questions:
- Where am I?
- Where can I go?
- Where have I been?

3. What is Navigation (formal)
- The theory and practice of how people move
from page to page.
- The process of goal-directed seeking and locating
hyperlinked information; browsing.
- All of the links, labels, and other elements that provide
access to pages and help people orient themselves while
interacting with a given interface (Kalbach).
- Web navigation refers to the process of navigating a
network of web resources, and the user interface that is
used to do so. A central theme in web design is the
development of a web navigation interface that maximizes
usability (Wikipedia).

4. Why care about Navigation?
- Reflects Brand
- Affects Credibility
- Opportunity to Engage Visitors (Positively!)
- Impact Sales (or other metrics)
- Current business
- Potential customers
- Potential partnerships/opportunities
- Can increase opportunities to cross-sell
and upsell
- Entice users to click: associative learning

5. Menus
- A list of commands or options from which you
can choose.
- Designers attempt to concretely explain which
options are available and what the visitor
should expect from site sections once clicking
on corresponding links.
- Responsive menus: navigation menus whose
presentation or behavior is altered on different
devices and screen widths.

6. Types of Embedded Navigation
Global | Local | Contextual
Global and Local act as a container
for the content of the site

7. Types of Embedded Navigation (cont.)
Global
- Most consistent navigational element
- Has a high impact on usability and should be
scrutinized and tested the most
Local
- Area specific navigation, or subsites
Contextual
- Embedded within text
- Facilitates associative learning by exploring
relationships
- Great for cross-selling, up-selling, & customer value

8. Global Navigation

9. Local Navigation

10. Contextual Navigation

11. Types of Supplemental Navigation
Indexes
- Similar to book indexes (generally alphabetical)
Site Maps
- Insight into site hierarchy (generally a top down
approach)
Guides
- Tours and tutorials
Breadcrumbs
- Parent > Child relationships
Search

12. Indexes

13. Site Maps

14. Guides

15. Breadcrumbs

16. Search

17. Advanced Navigation
Social Navigation - Based on user data, such
as "frequently bought together" or "by rating"

18. Advanced Navigation (cont)
Visualization - Tag Clouds, Nodes

19. Advanced Navigation (cont)
Personalization - Learns and predicts what a user will
be interested in (Amazon, netflix) - Personalized topics

20. QUESTIONS???

21. Works Referenced
Dunn, Zach. Principles of Effective Web Navigation. Retrieved from: http:
//buildinternet.com/2009/09/principles-of-effective-web-navigation/ Retrieved
on: Febuary 13, 2013.
Kalbach, James (2007). Designing Web Navigation. Retrieved from UT online
library: http://utexas.summon.serialssolutions.com/search?s.
q=web+navigation&keep_r=true
Moreville, Peter & Rosenfeld, Louis. Information Architecture for the World
Wide Web. Cambridge, MA: 2007.
Unknown. Web Navigation. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Web_navigation. Retrieved on: Febuary 12, 2013.
Images thanks to: REI, Netflix, Fast Company, US Food and Drug Admin, ebay