Who doesn’t love a website that can get them more conversions than they can count? But the differences between a website that people love to use and buy from, versus one where they get confused and leave, all come down to good web design. A key part of good web design is considering the user experience. Your website needs to balance its aesthetics with functionality to ensure users stay on your website, know how to use it, and know how to buy from you.

We are going to dive into one specific aspect of user-friendly web design, the navigation menu. These functional elements are a vital part of your website’s customer journey as they’re the primary way users navigate through your pages. Getting this wrong could mean that your users struggle to find the information they need to click “buy”.

Let’s dive into why website navigation is critical, the different types of navigation, and how you can best implement it on your website.

Why your website navigation is important

Your website’s navigation menu is the primary way your customers get around your website. So what happens when you get it wrong?

A visitor arrives on your website and reads through the homepage. You put a lot of effort into your pages. They look great and have compelling copy. So, the visitor is convinced. But they want more information about a particular product or service. They attempt to navigate to that page, only to find the navigation is confusing and unclear.

They click on random pages to see if they can find what they need. But they don’t. Then they try to navigate back to your homepage and find that a difficult task too. Frustrated, they give up and close the tab, looking at other options instead. Your navigation just lost you a customer, even one who was originally convinced by your messaging to take the next step.

Types of navigation

Your menu is the centre of your website’s navigation. At its core, a menu is just a bunch of links that link to other pages in your website. But there are many ways these links can be presented, hence the term menu.

There are many different types of menus to choose from. They aren’t all one size fits all, and the one that works best for your website depends on many different factors. Let’s dive into them here.

Horizontal

A horizontal menu is a classic menu that you have likely seen on countless websites across the internet. These sit horizontally at the top of the screen, spanning from left to right. They will list the pages on your website horizontally for users to click and navigate to. Often, these menus will also have drop-down menus that appear when a user hovers over a link on the menu.

They are extremely versatile, and useful for most websites. This is why they appear so widely on the web. Because of this spread, they are also very intuitive for users to use. The only negative would be that if you have a lot of links, they can look cluttered and overwhelming. Complicated websites may want to stay away from this menu type.

Dropdown

Dropdown navigation can appear in many different ways. Sometimes it is combined with other navigation menu types, and other times it acts as its own thing. The core essence of drop-down navigation is that your user hovers over something, whether it be text or an icon, and a menu drops down to reveal more links.

To get a drop-down menu right you need to make sure each category stands out and is clear. Your user needs to know that when they hover over this word, pages related to that word will appear. Confusing categories can be the death of a drop-down menu. So, it is best to only use this type of menu if you can be clear.  

Hamburger

A hamburger menu is very commonly seen on mobile but is also creeping its way over to desktop too. Starts as a simple three-line icon (which is where it gets its name from), the menu expands out when clicked on. When expanded out it can either take up half the screen or the full screen, offering a list of links to other pages and even to your social media.

These menus provide a lot more screen real estate for you to play around with. You can add social media links, images, and more to help your menu stand out. It all then shrinks down into a minimal icon that doesn’t interfere with your website’s design.

Sidebar

Sidebar navigation menus are vertical and sit to the left or right of your website. They can be a simple list, listing out your pages, or you can get more creative and incorporate it into your design. The main negative of sidebars is that they can get complicated if you have a lot of pages. Keep it simple and your sidebar will look fantastic.

Footer

While it should never be the primary mode of navigation, your footer is an essential part of your website’s navigation. Here you can add links to your social media, privacy policy and other nitty-gritty pages. You can also expand on your navigation here, adding links to other pages your visitors might find useful, but wouldn’t fit in the main navigation.

Cap it off by repeating your main navigation and adding a few extra elements like call to actions and fun graphics.

How to make your website navigation user-friendly

Now that you understand the importance of a good navigation menu, and likely have an idea on which type of menu you like, let’s dive into how you can perfect it. Here are 11 tips to making your navigation user-friendly.

1. Create a sitemap

Creating a sitemap should be the first step in any web project. It will provide a bit of forward-thinking that outlines the pages your website needs, their hierarchy, and how they all relate to each other. You can work out the pages that you need here, whether that be an about page, a specific services page, or an FAQs page.

Ultimately, your sitemap will form the base of your navigation menu. So ensure that you list all of the main pages that need to be included in your menu and other sub-pages that will be linked in other places.

Creating your sitemap is easy with tools like Gloomaps, Lucidchart, or even good old-fashioned pen and paper. Use colour coding to reference hierarchy, and include descriptions of what should be on each page.

2. Know which pages to prioritise

Prioritising your pages is essential for user-friendly website navigation. When deciding which pages to prioritise it is important to think about where you want to lead your visitors. This is known as the customer journey.

Decide which pages you want your users to visit first and give them a prominent place in your navigation menu. As a result, users find out what these steps in the customer journey are quickly and can quickly move on to the next step.

Ask yourself what information is most valuable for you and your visitors? What is the goal of visiting your website and can visitors easily achieve it in your navigation menu? The answers to these will determine which pages you should prioritise.

3. Keep some conventions

Keeping some navigation conventions in mind while designing your website will make it easier for users to understand how your website is organised. It can be tempting to break the mould, but some conventions should be retained to improve useability.

Your website should feel like second nature to your users. They should be able to easily move through the website and find where they need to go unobstructed. Familiar design conventions ensure that your users will know what they are doing when they get on your website and won’t get lost.

Conventions like placing your logo in the top left corner, and having your main navigation menu at the top of the page, are things most users are familiar with. Of course, you can break conventions but do so thoughtfully, while retaining others.

4. Use a sticky menu

Also known as a fixed, or floating menu, a sticky menu is a navigation menu that stays fixed in place as users scroll down the page. It means that as users scroll down further into each page they can still access your menu without needing to scroll back up to the top. This makes it easier for users to access the navigation menu at all times.

Alternatively, you can have a back to top button which pulls your users back up to the navigation menu. This is often used on mobile to save space as the user scrolls. Both options help users save a ton of time and make using your website slick and easy.

5. Reduce the number of items on your menu

Minimise what is on your menu in order to help your users process the menu and reach the next page faster. With this tip, it is time to go all Marie Kondo on your menu. Only choose items that spark joy in your customers, and encourage them on the next steps in your customer journey.

If you need more pages on your menu, consider introducing drop-downs beneath relevant categories. This way your users can search for the category they are after, and then find the product or service they are looking for.

6. Try adding a search bar

A search bar allows users to quickly find what they’re looking for by typing in a keyword or phrase. This is a seamless and fast way for users to navigate your website. They will go directly to the content they are looking for.

Consider adding a search bar to your website if you have a lot of content or if your navigation menu is complex. It is a handy tool for internet power users, who will be able to use it to navigate the website. The only downside to a search bar is that your users need to know what to search for in the first place. However, you can get around this by having your standard menu right beside it.

7. Use clear labels

When it comes to your menu labels, clarity is everything. Your user needs to know exactly what page they are clicking on, and what they will find there all from a label. This helps to reduce confusion and stops your users from having to click through multiple pages to find the information they are after.

The labels you place in your navigation menu should be clear and descriptive. Avoid using vague or generic terms like “services” or “products”. Instead, use specific terms that describe what the user can expect to find on the corresponding page.

8. Ensure your logo links back to your homepage

You don’t need to include “home” on your menu anymore. In fact, this is really outdated. Instead, your logo should link back to your homepage. It is like a little home button that forever lives in the corner of your menu, offering your users an escape back to the safety of your home page.

Unfortunately, so many websites have missed this convention. Which leads to frustrated users, clunky navigation, and more people simply closing the website.

9. Show what page the user is on

Make it clear what page your users are on through breadcrumbs. This is a navigation trick that appears at the top of the page to show your users the exact page they are on. It also shows the hierarchy of pages. You may see it as: home > services > branding. You can also highlight the menu option that your user is currently on. This will ensure that when they look at the menu they will see the exact page highlighted in a different colour.

10. Ensure your visitors can reach any page from the page they are on

Visitors should be able to reach any page on your website from any other page. This makes it easier for them to move around your website and find what they’re looking for quickly. It is a key aspect of your customer journey as not every user will arrive on your website through your homepage.

Ensure each page of your website has a menu. Include each of your pages in the footer as an alternative menu. Your page should also be filled with buttons that take users to the next page in the customer journey.

11. Design for every screen size

Your website navigation should be designed to work well on different screen sizes, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This makes it easier for users to access your website from any device and ensures that your website navigation is user-friendly for everyone.

If you use a horizontal menu on your desktop version, consider changing it to a hamburger menu on mobile. Similarly, a sticky menu may not work on mobile, so add a scroll to the top button for ease of access.

Conclusion

When designing a website, getting your navigation right is vital to its success. Users are used to good, easy-to-navigate websites and don’t put up with poorly designed websites anymore. Give the above tips a try and see if you can create an easy-to-navigate website.

If you need help or advice, feel free to reach out to the creative team at Link for a chat.