{"id":11746,"date":"2025-01-29T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crazyeggblog.wpengine.com\/?p=11746"},"modified":"2025-01-29T16:00:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T21:00:51","slug":"website-navigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crazyegg.com\/blog\/website-navigation\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Required Website Navigation Design Tips + 5 to Avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Your website navigation is one of the most important pieces of your website design<\/a>. If your users can\u2019t easily navigate your website to find what they\u2019re looking for (i.e., information on your products or services), you might as well not have one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a well-designed and functional website navigation can vastly improve a user\u2019s experience on your website, leading to an influx in website visitors, longer time spent on your website, and more sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You just need to know the right design tips\u2014plus some major don\u2019ts that can lead to users clicking that exit button faster than you can say \u201chome page.\u201d Read on to discover how to create an easy-to-use website navigation for your visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Website Navigation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Website navigation is the main menu or main links that website visitors use to navigate your website. Common menu items include an \u201cAbout\u201d page, products or services, and contact information, but they\u2019ll vary widely depending on what type of business you run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though we\u2019ll walk you through a few different types of website navigation, this is most commonly found at the top of a website. For example, this is the navigation you\u2019ll see if you scroll up to the top of this blog post:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Neil<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your website navigation should strategically lead visitors to the most important parts of your website. For example, a software company would want to showcase its features or different aspects of its product, whereas an ecommerce website would want to include its main product categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to design a simple but effective website navigation that makes it a breeze to find exactly what a website visitor needs\u2014even from their very first visit to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 Types of Website Navigation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are four main types of website navigation that you\u2019ll see used on a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horizontal Navigation Bar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The most common type of website navigation is the horizontal navigation bar that lives right at the top of a desktop website. This typically includes the company\u2019s logo and main navigation links in a straight, horizontal line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an example of what this might look like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Arbor<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vertical Sidebar Navigation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Less common, we have a vertical sidebar. This type of menu includes the company\u2019s logo and main navigation links in a column or dropdown on the website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an example of what this could look like on a website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Twitter\/X<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hamburger Menu<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On mobile websites, we typically see a hidden menu that\u2019s accessible via a hamburger menu icon, named due to the three parallel lines giving the look of a hamburger (i.e., bun, burger, bun). If you access a website on mobile, a hamburger menu tends to provide the most user-friendly experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at what this looks like. On the left, we see the hamburger menu in the top left corner of the website. Tap to open it, and you\u2019ll see the interface on the right:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ember<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Footer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finally, every website also has a footer at the very bottom of the site with important links. This type of website navigation usually includes all of the same links from the main menu, but might add even more options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the main menu at the top of a website needs to be cleaner, footers are used as more of a catch-all for important navigation links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an example of what a footer menu might look like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"American<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

10 Essential Website Navigation Design Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Make sure your audience can easily navigate your website. Keep these design tips in mind as you create or make any changes to your website navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Keep It Simple and Minimal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A website\u2019s navigation menu does not, and should not, be anything complicated. It should be a simple menu that showcases the most important pages of the website so that visitors can immediately find the information, products, or services they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at this website\u2019s top navigation bar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Easyplant<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are six simple links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n