Link to the Home Page
Every page should link to the main menu of your site. That main menu should usually be your default home page — something we'll cover later in the structure section.
These days, visitors have an expectation of where they'll find the Home link on every page. They expect to find it in the top left corner. If you put it anywhere else, you're confusing them, failing to meet their expectations — and that's poor usability.
On established sites the top left slot may already be taken up by something else such as promotion or link to a holding company. If that's the case then put your Home link as close as possible to the top left, and make it doubly clear.
Some sites, even big successful ones, use a corporate logo as their Home link. Others use a house icon. Both these options suffer a usability penalty compared to a link on the single text word "Home". The problem with using a corporate logo is that many sites don't use these for Home links, so your visitor can't be sure whether your logo is a Home link or not until they've clicked it. New Web users are similarly confused by the house icon, until they've clicked a few and seen where they lead. If you must use a logo or icon, you can remove the usability penalty by adding a "Home" text link too. Chances are, it will be clicked more often than the graphic.
The Breadcrumb Trail
This term is based on a Hansel and Gretel story, in which the pair leave a trail of breadcrumbs to help them find their way back through a forest. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen took up the expression to describe a very important aspect of Web navigation.
Your visitors should be able to use your navigation system to make their way up your site's hierarchical structure to the menu of the current section, and to any section menu above that, and ultimately to your home page.
It looks something like this, with each element linked to the appropriate page:
Home > Main section menu > Subsection menu > This page
It's a very useful element of navigation, probably more useful than a navigation bar that covers your main sections, yet even on big sites it's often missing.
Where are we? — Station Signs
The breadcrumb trail is closely associated with another important aspect of navigation. Your visitors should be told where they are right now.
Ever woken up when your train has pulled into a station and wondered where you are? You expect the station signs to tell you. That's why they're there.
The same applies on the Web. Arriving in the middle of a site through a search engine is the equivalent of waking up in an unknown station. So use your navigation to tell your visitors where they've arrived. The best way is to use the breadcrumb trail, and also to change the color of the current section in any navigation bar that covers your main sections.
Search
Another essential navigation link is to your search page. It's one of the first places your visitors will go if they think they're close to where they want to be, but not quite there. Don't lose them now! Put your search link near the top where it's easy to find.
Section Links
In your navigation area you will probably supply links to other main sections, usually in a consistent navigation bar. This will save your visitors time if they want to jump to another area. But don't overdo it. Supplying too many options can paralyse the decision-making process. Think about your own decision-making when you choose a holiday destination. Do you choose between fifty destinations, a dozen, or just three or four? The smaller the number, the easier it is to make a decision. On this basis, most sites offer no more than eight section links.
Breadcrumb trails and section links are usually arranged horizontally at the top of the page, often in two tiers with the section links at the top and the breadcrumb trail just below. In theory they could go down the left hand side, but since most sites put them at the top, that's probably the best place for them — again you'll be fulfilling your visitors' expectations.
Left Hand Column - Page 2
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