Since I keep getting complimented on it, I thought I’d give you my thoughts on how to have a website that’s easy to navigate. Because it’s not super genius stuff. In fact, it requires you to pretend to be stupid. Fun!

Finding the sugar in a strange kitchen

Having a site that’s easy to navigate is very important, it makes a big difference to how people experience your site, and how likely they are to come back and have a good impression of you. The reason many sites are not easy to navigate is that the navigation system needs to be about three times clearer and more obvious than you think it does. It’s like having a well-laid out kitchen: of course, it’s obvious to you where you keep the sugar, but a guest trying to make a cup of tea will probably open every cupboard before finding it.

A navigation menu across the top, like you see above, is the internet standard. Standard is good, because it means people understand it. It’s like keeping your cutlery in the top drawer: your guest may have to go through all the cupboards to find the sugar, the first place they’ll look for a teaspoon is the top drawer. If that’s where it is, they’ll be happy.

When it comes to navigation, boring is good. Same as everyone else is what you should aim for.

The ‘home’ link should be on the far left, because that’s where people go looking for that particular teaspoon. If you have a ‘contact me’ page, having it on the right is smart. For other labels, the order is not so important. What the labels say, however, is vitally important. If there is any conceivable doubt in anyone’s conceivable mind where the navigation link goes, it’s not clear enough.

An example

Say you’re an artist putting some of your work online. You want to have different pages for sketches, linedrawings and colour pieces. To keep things concise, you decide to go with:

Home : About : Sketch : Finished : Colour : Comics : Commissions

Let me stress that this isn’t a bad navigation menu. A reasonably intelligent person will, in context, work out what they’re going to get when they click on ‘Finished’. But it could be better, because the best navigation labels do not require any working out. People don’t like working out. It’s tiring.

‘Colour’ doesn’t really do what it say on the tin. You’re not showing people colours, or selling them colours (paints, perhaps?) or writing an essay about colour, you’re going to give them pictures. ‘Finished’ is even worse.

What’s finished? Who’s finished? Am I finished?

And, believe it or not, people who aren’t illustrators often don’t know what commissions are. Or rather, that’s not the word they use when they think about what they want. They’re looking for an artist to draw them a picture.

I would go for something like this:

Home : About me : Sketches : B/W illustrations : Colour illustrations : Comics : Hire me

Of course, the ‘me’ in this menu will only work if the visitor already knows you’re an artist. So that needs to be clear, too.

How to be stupid

If you’re not sure your navigation labels are clear enough, try to intentionally misunderstand them. Take them out of context. Look for ambiguity. Think of what it might mean, to an idiot. To someone who stumbled onto your page by accident. Then, think of a clearer label, and try to misunderstand that. Really put some thought into it, and then pick the one that’s least misunderstandable. You’re not going to get it perfect. But it’s worth the effort to try.

Try to think like an idiot. Again, it’s obvious to you what things mean because it’s your kitchen. Doing things that feel kind of lame and too obvious are generally just about right, when it comes to website navigation.

Putting a big label with “TEA AND SUGAR” on your own kitchen cupboard will get you funny looks, yes. If it were a kitchen in some kind of public space though, say, in a building where evening classes are being taught, it’d be really handy, and people will appreciate it.

Oh, look, sugar. That’s what I was looking for!