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Web Site Navigation and Design
t seems that one of the
hardest things to get right As an example, let’s say that you
in web design is creating have a site that has the
proper layout and navigation. following pages:
Sometimes a web site will be very
rich in content, except that •Home page
traffic will suffer due to poor
navigational structure. In other •About us
words, navigation has become one
of the key ingredients in •Products
developing sustainable, long-term
traffic to your site. •Services
Your site tree: •Contact
Often before you even get into •Clients
the graphical aspects of your
site, it is useful to think about •News
the content that you will have
for your site and brainstorm Generally speaking, the root of
possible navigational schemes, your website will be your home
otherwise known as site trees. page or index page which serves
These trees describe the way in as the main landing destination
which your site branches out into of your visitors. From here, they
articles, products and services, should be able to easily reach
and any other additional sections many parts of your site, often
you may have. You would be within 2 clicks or less, and be
surprised how different tree able to return to your home page
layouts can be created, but not with ease. Depending on the size
all are created equal. and nature of your site, you may
need to create ‘deep’ links, (3 Others use only header links.
or more clicks away from your
homepage), but they should only Drop down menus can also provide
be used for very specific readers an easy way to get to a
information. As an example, there number of different pages in one
is no reason why the 7 pages click. This is particularly
listed above shouldn’t be useful when you have a variety of
accessible from your home page, content, as it saves people from
as they are very broad ‘drilling down’ through multiple
categories. pages to get to a variety of
content. This also helps you
Content Layout avoid the problem of deep links,
pages which are three or more
What is essential in laying out clicks from your home page.
your content is that from every
portion of your site your One of the best ways to provide a
visitors should know where they way back to the home page is to
are (through the use of titles place your company logo in the
and graphics), where they can go top-left left corner of every
(using navigational and page in your site, and have it
contextual links), and how they link to your home page. Not only
can get back (either to previous is the logo a well-known way of
pages or back to the home page). getting back to the index page of
a website, but it also allows you
Once you have developed your site to consistently brand your
tree it’s time to think about identity throughout your site.
where to place your links. There It’s important to remind your
two most popular are header links readers that the pages and
and sidebar links. Many sites use content were created by you!
a combination of these two.
For top and sidebar navigation entire layout of your site, and
links, try to stick to common often use text links to allow
names that people are used to. your reader to get to any part of
You will have the opportunity to your site. Readers who are
get into more detailed subjects searching for something specific
within your content, but it is in your site will sometimes refer
often better to provide your to site maps.
readers with easily recognizable
buttons and names which they are Graphics
able to intuitively understand.
Eye-catching graphics, when
Anchor links can also be a useful combined with a strong layout and
way to contextually link to other structure will ensure that your
pages in your site. If you have a visitors stay a while. It is also
paragraph that alludes to another one of the ways you can separate
product or service, you can yourself from the competition, as
simply anchor link some text in there are many websites out there
that paragraph like this. While with very standard layouts and
this is a common way to link to just a few short paragraphs.
other sites of interest, it’s
also a great way to link to other Do not underestimate unique photo
pages within your site. These stills when designing your
shouldn’t really replace your website. When integrated
header or sidebar links, but properly, they can be one of the
serve as a supplemental means of most effective ways of
navigation. personalizing a web design.
Photos and graphics are sure to
Adding a good site map will place add visual eye-candy to your
the finishing touch on your site. information and content.
Site maps are a summary of the
And of course, a well-designed
logo is a must! It should be one google_ad_width = 728;
of the first things your reader
sees when entering your site. It google_ad_height = 15;
can also be useful to have your
logo integrated into a google_ad_format =
banner-style graphic and add it "728x15_0ads_al";
to your header for a more
integrated feel. google_ad_channel =
"3545651507";
When it comes to graphics
however, you should be careful google_color_border =
that you don’t overdue things. "FFFFFF";
Bandwidth intensive video may
turn away some of your potential google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";
visitors due to slow loading
times etc. Because of this, you google_color_link =
are often better to go with "0000FF";
simple flash animations that will
spice up your website without google_color_text =
placing unnecessary demands on "3E3F43";
your readers’ computers and
connections. google_color_url =
"3E3F43";
type="text/javascript">
google_ad_client =
"pub-8542272527121315";
type="text/javascript" tion.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndica
About the Author:
LogoBee is a leading creator of custom logo design and stationery for all types of businesses. They're now providing their own in-house web design service. Visit them at:
http://www.logobee.com
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