Philadelphia Web Design Tips: Rethinking Your Website’s Navigation

By Author: Erica Ronchetti
Total Articles: 738
Comment this article

Because hyperlinks are the foundation of websites, it makes sense to put a significant amount of effort into how website navigation and link systems are designed. Let one web design Philadelphia walk you through a navigation and linking overview of some of the tried-and-true site navigation designs.

It’s important to place website navigation at the forefront of your design process or redesign plan for the betterment of user experience. A Philadelphia web design company can help your business, large or small, take advantage of new technologies available to develop a navigational structure that’s effective.

If you’ve got a small, personal website, your Philadelphia web design company may suggest a simple top horizontal navigation bar. This is the easiest and most user-friendly way to display all available page links. Larger websites with many pages may require stacked vertical navigational layout to display additional links, typically down the left side of the web page. Your Philadelphia web design company can create a “drop down” or “fly-out” menu to keep navigation accessible ...
... but compact.

If you think it’s time to rethink your website navigation, a Philadelphia web design company can help you create a solution for a more pleasing user experience, rich in features, and optimized effectively for speed. As web browsers broaden their features and web design continues to advance (specifically with HTML5 and CSS3), navigational design options broaden.

When is it time to change your website’s navigational structure? A Philadelphia web design company will tell you that it’s not advisable to change something for the sake of change, and it’s not necessary to change layout or navigation because we’ve got the new resources or tools to make that change. Address your website’s navigation by looking at existing issues and how new available design techniques can fix them.

Philadelphia Web Design: Navigational Aspects to Consider

1. Where should my navigation be located?

2. How expansive will my navigation be?

3. What feedback will it provide users?

4. How flexible and practical is my current design?

Content that can’t be found can’t be read, and provides zero value to visitors.

First and foremost, design for the visitor, or the person who’s using your website. Avoid designing from your organization’s point of view and create navigation that aids the reader. Visitors should always be aware of where they are on the website. Include prominent page titles for every page, and include a link describing which page the visitor is on in relation to other nav links. Include a company logo that when clicked, will return the visitor to the home page. If the website is an ecommerce one, include a “progress chart” that shows steps in the purchasing process. It’s fairly universal to include “About”, “Home”.

Reach out to a Philadelphia web design company who can creatively solve complex navigational issues—CSS3 offers a huge amount of potential for nav designs.

Erica Ronchetti is a freelance writer for Boomtown IG, an innovative website design and marketing company. We take pride in creating websites that are appealing for businesses and their customers. We provide complete Internet solutions for our clients in need of Philadelphia web design services. Visit our site at Boomtownig.com for more information on web design Philadelphia.