Navigation
Web navigation is about moving forwardApril 02, 2006: The primary purpose of web navigation is to help people to move forward. It is not to tell them where they have been, or where they could have gone. More
Do you make this obvious web design mistake?
November 08, 2004: The most common web design mistake is to design for the exception, and to ignore the obvious. That's because designing for the obvious is boring, while designing for the exception is fun. More
Renewing my driving license online: a Kafkaesque experience: Part 2
October 11, 2004: Action is what matters on the Web. Someone comes to your website in order to do something. The only measure of success that counts is whether they have been able to do what they came to your website to do. More
Renewing my driving license online in 50 tortuous steps
October 04, 2004: The best websites make our lives easier, while the worst ones make our lives more difficult. After trying to renew my driving license online, I was stunned by how awful some websites still are. Much of the Web is a quagmire of appalling design and even worse management. More
Information architecture: webpage mental maps emerge
October 13, 2003: When people come to your website they have a mental map of how their 'ideal' webpage should be. They expect to see certain things in certain places. They expect to read certain killer words in your classification and content. The more you meet their mental map, the more successful your website will be. More
Web navigation: traffic light, not neon light design
March 04, 2002: Navigation allows the reader to find the content they want by moving through a website using classification links. It should be designed in a simple, clear, consistent and functional manner; like a traffic light, not a neon light. More
Web navigation design principles, part 5: Support the reader, never mislead them
May 14, 2001: For large websites, no matter how good the navigation design, there will always be people who will get confused. A reader should never be more than one click away from being able to get help, either through contacting the organization, and/or through accessing a help section. A help section is of particular importance where a reader is asked to carry out a complex task, such as a purchase process or advanced search. More
Web navigation design principles, part 4:
Follow Web convention
May 07, 2001: Many people instinctively see the Web as a single medium. Navigation skills that they acquire on one website they like to carry over to other websites – it makes life easier for them. In this sense, the more similar the navigation of your website is with other websites, the easier it is for the reader to get around your website, based on their past experience. More
Web navigation design principles, part 3: Provide context, and be consistent
April 30, 2001: In navigation design it is important to provide context for the reader, so that they know how a particular piece of content relates to other content on the website. Equally, it's important to be consistent. There's nothing worse than navigation that keeps changing its design for no logical reason. More
Web navigation design principles, part 2: Let the reader know where they are, where they’ve been and where they’re going
April 23, 2001: Navigation supports a reader in moving around a website. In this sense, navigation should, where possible, let the reader know where exactly on the website they are, where they have been on the website, and where they will be taken, if they click on a particular link. More
Web navigation design principles, part 1: Reader-designed, fast download, with multiple paths
April 16, 2001: The fundamental principle of navigation design is that you should design for the reader; the person who uses the website. More
Navigating a website
September 18, 2000: One of the most difficult problems in website design is navigation. When you say “website design,” a lot of people immediately think of graphics, of visual design. The core design challenges for a website are around information, not visuals. More
