Navigation must be simple. Since it's
backbone of your site, it's imperative that visitors be able to understand it. Here are two tips on how to make simplicity a reality in your site:1. Your link titles need to be understandable.
Visitors need to know exactly what link to click on for info they need. Unfortunately, visitors frequently get confused and don't understand what a link means. Consequently, they aren't sure what info they'll find at other end of link.
Often, a link name that makes complete sense to you will mean nothing to visitor. For example, I once used a link called "Resources" in navigation bar of a site for a client. This section of site contained various articles and links to outside sites with helpful information.
However, after a little bit of testing, I discovered that most people had no idea what I meant by "Resources". They didn't know what kind of information was in that area. Also, when visitors tried to look for articles, they didn't think to check Resources section.
In other words, link wasn't doing anyone any good.
The difference between your understanding of a term and a visitor's understanding of same term can be rather drastic. This happens because you are so close to your own business and your own site.
It's important to remember that visitors don't know nearly as much about your business as you do. They often have no background knowledge, and they might not know standard terms in your industry. Sometimes, you'll have to work to come up with terms and phrases for your links that are meaningful to visitor.
Here's one general principle: Don't use clever terms.
Although clever attention-getters often work well in offline world, it's different online. In character with their generally hurried attitude, web users want to know exactly where they are going and what they will find when they click on a link. They don't like guessing games and are usually not enticed by clever lead-ins. What lies beyond them is simply not clear.
Cleverness doesn't belong in navigation unless you're positive meaning will be understood by everyone. You should avoid anything that isn't straightforward and clear. Steer away from any terms that obscure what your links are really about.
