Week 4

Planning Site Navigation

2

Creating Usable Navigation

• Provide enough location information to let the user answer the following navigation questions:• Where am I? • Where can I go? • How do I get there?• How do I get back to where I started?

3

Creating Usable Navigation (continued)• To answer these questions, provide the

following information:

• Let users know what page they are on, and what type of content they are viewing

• Let users know where they are in relation to the rest of the site

4

Creating Usable Navigation (continued)

• Provide consistent, easy-to-understand links• Provide an alternative to the browser’s Back

button that lets users return to their starting point

5

6

7

Limiting Information Overload

• Create manageable information segments• Control page length• Use hypertext to connect facts, relationships,

and concepts

8

Building Text-Based Navigation

• Text-based linking is often the most effective way to provide navigation on your site

• It can work in both text-only and graphical browsers

• Always provide a text-based set of links as an alternate means of navigation

9

Sample Text Navigation

– To main pages (Home, Table of Contents, Index)

– To the top of each chapter

– Within the Table of Contents page to chapter descriptions

– From Table of Contents page to specific topics within each chapter

• The following screens demonstrate a variety of text-based navigation options:

10

Sample Text Navigation (continued)

– Between the previous and next chapter

– Within chapter pages to each topic

– To related information by using contextual links

• The following screens demonstrate a variety of text-based navigation options (continued):

11

12

13

Linking with a Text Navigation Bar

• The Table of Contents page must link to the other main pages of the Web site, allowing users to go directly to the pages they want

• Achieve this by adding a simple text-based navigation bar

14

15

Linking to Individual Files

• The Table of Contents page needs links to the individual chapter files in the Web site

16

17

Adding Internal Linking

• Add a “back to top” link that lets users return to the top of the page from many points within the file

18

19

20

Adding an Internal Navigation Bar

• You can use additional fragment identifiers in the table of contents to add more user-focused navigation choices

21

22

23

Linking to External Document Fragments

• You can let users jump from the table of contents to the exact topic they want within each chapter

• This requires adding code to both the Table of Contents page and each individual chapter page

24

25

Adding Page Turners

• You can enhance the functions of the navigation bar in the chapter pages by adding page-turner links

• Page turners let you move either to the previous or next page in the collection

26

27

28

29

Adding Contextual Linking

• Contextual links allow users to jump to related ideas or cross-references by clicking the word or item that interests them

• These are links that you can embed directly in the flow of your content by choosing the key terms and concepts you anticipate your users will want to follow

30

31

Using Graphics for Navigation and Linking

32

Using Graphics for Navigation and Linking

• Standardize your navigation graphics• Provide predictable navigation cues for the

user • Repeat graphics to minimize download time• Use consistent placement and design of

navigation graphics to reassure the user• Use easily understandable graphics

33

34

Using Icons for Navigation

• One of the main problems with icons—not everyone agrees on their meaning

• Especially with a worldwide audience, you never can be sure exactly how your audience will interpret your iconic graphics

• This is why so many Web sites choose text-based links

35

36

37

38

Using the alt Attribute

• Provide alternate text-based links in addition to graphical links

• Do this by including an alt attribute in the <img> tag of the HTML code for the graphic

39

40

41

42

Summary

• Work from the users’ point of view; think about where users want to go within your site, and make it easy for them to get there

• Add plenty of links so it's easy to get around your site; link to fragments as well as whole pages

• Make it easy to get back to your navigation options

• In addition to providing links, make sure you provide plenty of location cues to let the user know where they are

43

Summary (continued)

• Do you have to use graphics for linking? Rethink the objectives of your site and determine whether text will do as well; every additional graphic adds to download time

• Don't forget to provide alt values to your <img> tags to provide alternate navigation options for the user