How To Design The Best Navigation Menu For Your Website

The navigation menu is one of the most important design elements on your website. Not only does it guide the users to pages beyond your home page, but it is also a necessary tool to give the users some sense of orientation. Due to this reason, it is important to stick to time tested usability conventions. This will provide your users with a comfortable and easy reference point to interact with the content.

Let us understand the basics of designing a ‘direction finding bar’ which will help the users to move more efficiently through your site:

·      Content First: It is extremely important to properly analyze and organize all the content into a logical and understandable structure before even considering the layout choices. Once this has been accomplished, add complexity only if it is absolutely necessary for the users.

·         Keep the layout simple: The main role of a category bar is to give the users options. Overwhelming a visitor with too many options, refrains him from quickly making a choice. Also use precise and recognizable words. Refrain from using jargon or complex and long phrases in the content of the category bar which will consume up the screen space and also won’t register properly in the minds of a consumer.

·         Left to Right: People generally read from left to right, so they expect action links on the right side of the bar. Also keep the search bar on the top right corner of the web page, so that the users can quickly search for a specific item on the site.

Types of navigation menu designs for your website:

·         One level bar: A one level bar is a sectioned portion of a web page, which does not have any drop down options. A user can click on any option and he will be redirected to the page, containing all the information about that particular option.

·         Drop down multi-level bars: Drop down bas are extremely popular as they allow a user to reach any page on the site with just one click. When a user places the cursor on one option, a drop down bar opens which shows all the sub categories related to that option and then he/she can navigate his/her way through these options.

·         Mega drop down bars: Mega bars are the newest craze for large internet sites who have a lot of depth, categories and sub categories of sub categories. The sub-categories are generally two level deep, but the second level features a large panel, containing images and multiple columns of links. The benefit of these bars is that a site not only provides more links for the users, but also include content and hierarchy within those links. Visit @ : http://www.websitemonster.net/