Diagram the site – planning the site navigation

The thing that makes navigation difficult to work with in Web design is that it can be so versatile. Navigation can be simple or complex: a few main pages or a multilevel architecture; one set of content for logged-in users and another for logged-out users; and so on. Because navigation can vary so much between websites, there are no set guidelines or how-to’s for organizing navigation.

Designing navigation is an art in itself, and designers become better at it with experience. It’s all about using good information architecture: “the art of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems.”

Organizing Navigation Structure

Perhaps the most difficult part about navigation on the Web is organizing and designing it. After all, coding it can be relatively easy. In this first section, we’ll go over some methods and best practices for organizing navigation, which can lead to a more intuitive user experience and higher conversion rates.

Primary vs. Secondary

Most websites, especially those with a lot of content or functionality, need navigation menus. But as a website grows in complexity, guiding users to that content and functionality shouldn’t be the job of anyone menu. All of that content just doesn’t always fit in one large menu, no matter how organized it may be. While many websites need more than two, all websites have at least two main menus: primary and secondary.

Primary navigation stands for the content that most users are interested in. But importance is relative; the type of content linked from the primary navigation on one website may be the same kind linked from the secondary navigation on another (for example, general information about the company or person).

Secondary navigation is for content that is of secondary interest to the user. Any content that does not serve the primary goal of the website but that users might still want would go here. For many blogs, this would include links for “About us,” “Contribute,” “Advertise” and so on. For other websites, the links might be for the client area, FAQ or help page.

The first job in organizing navigation is to organize the content. Only after the content has been organized can you determine what is primary and what is secondary, and then you can determine the location and navigational structure of any remaining content. Content that fits neither the primary nor secondary navigation can go in other menus, whether a sub-menu, footer menu, sidebar widget or somewhere else. Not to suggest that primary navigation cannot go in these areas of the page; there are many instances where primary navigation is best suited to the sidebar or in drop-downs.

Also ask whether navigation is even needed beyond the primary menu? If a secondary menu is needed, then why and what’s the best way to implement it? No matter how organized the content is, if there’s a lot of it and thus a need for a more complex navigational structure, then distinguishing between primary and secondary content can be daunting. Fortunately, there’s a great method that designers can try: card sorting.

Grouped Content: Classification Schemes

When a lot of content is grouped in one category, another issue arises: what order to put it all in? Card sorting and similar methods may help to create groups and a hierarchy and to differentiate between top-level and sub-levels of navigation, but how should content within those groups be ordered? Alphabetically? By most used or most popular? Most recent to oldest?

Below is a list of the most common content classification methods, along with suggestions for what each is best for:

• Most recent to oldest

Suitable for time-sensitive content.

• Alphabetical

Great for when the user needs to find something fast. This includes definitions, indexes and other content that users know about before they find it.

• Most popular or most used

Great for interest-based browsing, rather than content that users need.

• Geographical

Is certain content irrelevant to certain regions or subregions?

• In the order of the process

If the content in some way represents a process (for example, “How to file your taxes”), then it could be organized according to the order of actions the user has to take. FeverBee has a great example of this: “How to Build an Online Community: The Ultimate List of Resources.” While the website is a blog, the content isn’t necessarily time-sensitive, so the author has created a great navigational structure that puts much of the content into a step-by-step process.

Navigation And User Levels

For websites where navigation changes based on whether a user is logged in or out, other organizational challenges arise. Some websites may have a simple client area, while others have full-fledged communities. When this kind of interaction is involved, user roles and available content may vary, and owners may want to highlight some content or design it differently.

Below are a few tips for organizing navigation across membership levels:

• What user levels are there?

Many website owners plan this out ahead of time, and it depends greatly on their business model. As the designer or developer, make sure you know what navigation levels are needed, and keep the content in them straight.

• Design and plan for each level separately.

Don’t wait until the membership area is set up before considering the navigation structure of the levels. How should content be organized for logged-out users? How should it be structured for logged-in users? Administrators vs. basic members? Free accounts vs. paid accounts?

• What content should each type of user be able to access?

A logged-out visitor will want to know more about the community or service. A logged-in member will already be convinced, and so the primary navigation for them should reflect what is available with their membership. Is there special content for paid members, and should it be highlighted to be more visible? Should special links or content be shown to logged-out administrators, or will that all be taken care of once they log in?

Planning for different user levels can be done with the same methods outlined for primary and secondary navigation. Card sorting can be helpful for each level. Think about what the primary navigation should be, what the secondary navigation should be, where everything should go (i.e. hierarchy), and how menu items should be labelled.