Bad Website Navigation Design Mistakes You Should Avoid
Every website has its own navigation, the place where the user can choose which page to go to. One may argue that it is the most important element for website design, as it is the navigation that allows the users to find what they want to know from the website.
If the navigation is confusing, it will definitely damage the user experience, hence it is so important that it has to be clear and straightforward. To achieve this, here are some mistakes you have to avoid with your website’s navigation.
Too Many Options
Recall the last website you went, how many options are there on the menu? Probably about five. Such as “Home”, “About”, “Services”, “Products” and “Contact”. Is it much clearer with these few options than a menu with over 15 options to choose from? The fewer the options, the easier it is for the visitors to know which to click.
Some companies like to squeeze every page options they have on their website on the navigation bar with the idea of allowing visitors to access all the pages easily. While making their page options available on their website is good, but an overload of navigation links will actually end up backfiring.
When designing navigation menu options, be aggressive to reduce as much options as possible. By presenting fewer options up front, you will actually encourage visitors to make quicker choices and go deeper into your site.
Focusing On The Wrong Options
Some options may seem important to be up on the primary navigation bar, however, if it is not what your users are going to look for, then it probably should not be there. For example “President’s Message” may be important, but is it really important to the end users that it deserves to have a spot of its own up on the navigation bar? Perhaps moving it to a sub-menu, the menu which appears if your mouse hovers over the primary navigation, will be a better choice. Always think in the perspective of an ordinary visitor.
Not Mobile Friendly
Mobile friendly is being conscious about how friendly your website will appear on a phone or tablet screen for the users. As the screen size for a mobile phone is much smaller than that of a laptop, many sub-menus are difficult to be seen on the mobile screen. One of the ways you can do is to have a responsive website, such that the navigation bar is redesigned to given enough emphasis, making it easy for the users to navigate your website.
Inconsistency
A navigation bar should always stay consistent on every single page on your website. We have the habit of relying on the navigation bar whenever we get lost on the website. Hence, if the navigation bar menu options keep changing, it will be really frustrating for the users to navigate around your website.
In conclusion, keep your navigation clear and intuitive on your website, make sure it is user-friendly at all times and do not contain too many elements.