2022 is a brand-new year, and there’s a lot of change you need to adapt to ensure your website remains relevant and, more importantly, effective.

That said, navigation still is one of the most important factors to consider when creating a website. A good navigation design will help users quickly find the things they need from the website, while a bad one will deter them from using it at all.

To ensure that your website isn’t suffering from bad navigation design, here are some vital navigation tips for applying:

1. Keep Things Familiar

Great navigation design is about making things familiar for users. It’s also about creating a sense of comfort and security, especially for new visitors.

Whenever possible, try to use text-based navigation instead of the default drop-down navigation found on most CMS templates. It adds a layer of familiarity to the user experience, but it allows you to provide a lot more information.

However, if drop-down navigation is the only option, try to keep things familiar at least. That might mean using the same colour scheme, font sizes, and even icons across different drops.

2. Keep Things Predictable

If you’re going to use drop-down navigation, try to keep things as predictable as possible. Users need to know that a drop-down will be coming and what it will contain.

One way is by using the same link text and colour, so the user automatically knows it’s the same drop-down they saw previously. The other is by using the same background colour. This way, the user can visually recognise that they’re on a drop-down menu.

3. Keep Things Consistent

Since you’re trying to create a sense of familiarity, you’ll want to create a sense of consistency to support your efforts.

One way to do so is through the appearance of the navigation menu. Since you already know what the menu will look like before you open it, try to be consistent with it by using the same button styling, font, and icon.

Another way to be consistent is through how you handle drop-down menus. If you’re going to use a closed drop-down menu, always use the closed drop-down menu. Try to avoid mixing the two or allowing for a closed option and an open option in the same menu.

4. Keep Things Functional

A lot goes into great navigation design, but the most important thing to remember is that it needs to be functional.

What does “functional” mean? Well, it means that the navigation menu should serve a specific purpose and that it should be designed in a way that allows the user to complete that purpose.

An effective navigation menu should be designed in a way that allows users to find what they need quickly and easily. That means that the menu should only contain links to pages that are relevant to the user’s search. Not only that, but it should also provide a way for users to sort through the available pages and find the ones that are most relevant.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, navigation design is more than just making sure a menu drops down at the right place and having a clickable link. It’s about creating a sense of familiarity, consistency, and predictability for users, so they can find what they need quickly and easily.

Now that you know the most important things to consider when it comes to navigation design, you should be able to apply these tips to your next project and create an effective navigation menu.

Studio Lore offers a team of creatives that pride themselves in offering outside-of-the-box solutions that meet and exceed expectations. If you are looking for a professional web designer to create your website, get in touch with us today!