IA Research Topic Presentation
Navigation&Menus
Presented By: Jingya Wang
What We Will Cover:
What is Website Navigation&Menus
1
The role of website navigation system
2
Some examples of different types of website
navigation systems
3
How to design a good website navigation
system
4
What is Website Navigation&Menus
On a website?
From WikiPedia
Web navigation refers to the process of
navigating a network of information
resources in the World Wide Web, which is
organized as a hypertext or hypermedia.
The role of website navigation&menus
 Through dividing into the primary and secondary
navigation or some other kinds of categories,the
navigation systems can actuate the users to find
information they need.
The role of website navigation&menus
 A navigation system can make the structure of a website
clear and easy for the users to understand where they
are.
What good navigation systems look like
Horizontal Navigation
What good navigation systems look like
Vertical Navigation
Horizontal or Vertical?
Horizontal
Vertical
Pros:
Pros:
1.
save space
2.
less mouse movement
display more links
Cons:
Cons:
take up too much
limit the link number
valuable space
How to design a good website navigation system
 Preparation
Designing navigation system should begin with the website
information architecture.Designers have to figure out what kind of
features the website offers, what is most important information and
what could be placed in lower levels in the information hierarchy.
How to design a good website navigation system
Using user-enabled technology and user-friendly terms

Using JavaScript or flash may be able to make the website
looks gorgeous,but it also may bring access problem.

Using simple,obvious term in navigation bars.At least,it should
not be confused for users to find where they want to go.
How to design a good website navigation system
 Drop-Down Menus
When you choose to use horizontal navigation,but you need more
space to display links,a drop-down menu is a useful choice.
Tip:It's better to make a navigation system broad and shallow.A very deep
navigation system is not friendly to users.
How to design a good website navigation system
 Primary and Secondary navigation systems
If you find that a navigation bar with drop-down menus is still not
enough, you may choose to use a primary&secondary navigation.It
is useful for a big website,after all,not all the contents always fit in a
single large menu.
How to design a good website navigation system
 Using a progress bar
If a user need several clicks to reach a page,it is better to set a
progress bar,which is an excellent tool to tell user where he is
clearly.Besides,using a progress bar can roll back to a up-level
page quickly.
How to design a good website navigation system
 Keeping the consistent style
Given that user experience,they would like to see the same
navigation menus at different pages in a website.So designers
should keep it same.
Summary
1. Navigation&Menus is a very important part in a website.Navigation
System can reflect the structure of whole website.
2. Both horizontal and vertical navigation menus are reliable,although
they have different features.So designers should choose a proper
one to fits the usage of the website.
3. When a designer is trying to design a navigation system for a
website,the most important thing is that the navigation menus
should be easy to use and understand. The designers should let the
users know their position and provide them with the easiest track to
any page they want.
Q&A
Thank you!
Reference:
 Wikipedia
http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_navigation
 Peter Morville&Louis Rosenfeld
Information Architecture for the world wide web
 Rean John Uehara
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/side-navigation-forwebsites/