Navigation tools

A navigation checklist:

• Most navigation pages should not scroll. You might use a scrolling page if you have a long list of navigation links
• Don't have too many choices. People stop reading options after they see 4-5 distinct choices. When people see a page, they immediately start trying to make sense of all their options. Group choices into functional units; this helps people interpret your whole page quickly
• Group navigation elements in a common space that people can easily distinguish from content. Place navigation in a consistent and/or predictable location. This avoids confusion and reduces the effort required for people to find what they need
• Never make the user scroll to find important navigation buttons or the main point of a page

You could use navigation graphics, text or frames to move users around your site.

There are two types of navigation graphics: buttons and image maps. A button is any graphic that is a link. When you click on it, you should go to another page. An image map is a graphic that has links to new pages. When you click in an area of the map, you jump to a new page. Make it clear where users go when they click on the map.

Straightforward text links work well. They do, honest. The advantage is they don't take up much space so the page is small and quick to load. Text links are also important on pages that use graphics and image maps as links. You should always have text links that correspond to graphic links. Two reasons:

• If you have lots of graphics, the text appears first and a user can click on the link and be off before the picture loads
• If you use an image map and the user turns off graphics or clicks the Stop button before it loads, they won't know how to continue

Most users follow text links no matter how many pretty graphics you have. It also helps if you can make an educated guess about where the link goes.

Frames, if you use them properly, solve the problem of how to keep text links in view at the same time as pages of information. Usually this means having a table of contents in a left hand frame that stays put, while the page loads into the right hand frame.

Be consistent with your navigation tools. The size, colour and shape of buttons should always be the same; don't use square buttons on one page and round ones on another. Put the buttons in the same place on every page. If you put them on the left hand side, put them on the left hand side of every page. It also helps to have some logical order for the navigation, for example the most important ones first.

Try to get users to information quickly. If they have to click more than three or four times before they find the information, they'll give up.