Hi, I’m Maria Boladian and I’m a web strategist with TinyFrog. Today I’m going to talk about one of the most critical elements to a successful website – that’s the top-line navigation.
You may think the navigation, since it’s the road map to your website, needs to have a ton of information in it. Actually, a menu works best when it is short and
sweet. And one of the reasons why it works best when it’s short and sweet is due to the user experience.
Create a User-Friendly Navigation
A concise menu allows readers to quickly scan and get the information that they’re looking for plus a short line single navigation design is concise and crisp, again allowing it to be easily read by the visitor. Today I’m going to give you three tips to keep in mind when looking to create a user-friendly, top-line navigation.
1. Limit the Number of Elements in the Navigation
Tip number one is to limit the number of elements or choices from your top-line navigation. You really want to streamline the navigation with the most important information that you think the visitor wants to find when visiting your website. You also want to prioritize those elements to make sure that you have the most important as the first element and the least important as the last element. Also keep in mind that you want to keep the element choices between four and six options.
2. Use Concise Page Names in the Menu
Secondly, use short concise names for your menu options. You want to make sure that the terms that you choose are also relevant and accurate to the industry that you’re in. Also keep the naming conventions simple.
For example, you may think that another word to use for contact is “Get in touch with us today.” However, a user who’s quickly scanning your website, may overlook that entirely and not know where to contact you.
3. Use Drop-Down Menus & Categories
Lastly, consider using categories and drop-down menu options. This is a great way to provide more information in a very user-friendly way, where the reader can find what they’re looking for, plus it takes away from the clutter of the top-line navigation.
I hope you found the three tips helpful for creating a streamlined top-line navigation that is very user friendly and will help contribute to the success of your website. For more information or if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to TinyFrog at anytime.
