The Importance Of Good Navigation
August 22nd, 2008 by Click Consult
Website navigation is important for both human visitors and for search engine spiders. Flash or image based navigation menus can be difficult for software based spiders to navigate and it's vital that your navigation menus are prominent, clear, and simple to understand. Graphical navigation is often best accompanied by an HTML sitemap linked to from the home page.
Some users disable certain types of content from websites. It's rare for browsers to disable images, but Java and other scripts may not be displayed on all computers. As such, if you do use anything other than HTML links then you should also include an alternative. Sitemaps have become common place on websites and are a simple way to bypass any problems users might face.
It's standard to include navigation menus in the most prominent position possible. Horizontal menus are usually placed just below the header so that they are instantly accessible while vertical menus are most often placed on the left of the screen. Using this placement you can be sure that visitors see your menu without having to scroll, even when they use a minimised browser window.
Many navigational options exist including some innovative and unique designs. While a good looking and unique website design will attract visitors and aid in the performance of your website, navigation is one area that you have to ensure is done properly. Broken links, inaccessible menus, and other faults can cost your website and your online business performance dearly.
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