#19 - Make Your Navigation Obvious and Persistent

This is my series of 30 brief interactive marketing tips. I’m posting each business day at 8:30 a.m. EST. Catch them all by subscribing to my blog or bookmarking the site. All of the posts will be tagged “30 interactive marketing tips” and listed on this page.

#19 - Make Your Navigation Obvious and Persistent

You can have the most compelling product pages in the world, but if no one can figure out how to find the one they want, it doesn’t matter. Make it simple for users to locate the content they seek and to drill down into specific areas. Think sub-categories and navigation, such as clothing sizes or “themes” like gifts for grandparents.

It’s important that users be able to quickly orient themselves to where they are and where they have been. Your navigation should give clues, such as design elements or changing colors, that facilitate orientation.

The most common type of site navigation includes links across the top of the page and down the left hand side. Wherever you put your navigation, choose simple language that makes it easy for people to find the content they want.

Ensure that your navigation appears on each page (with the possible exception of the checkout process). Clearly communicate where the user is visually and, potentially, with elements like breadcrumbs (a basic line of hyperlinks, e.g. Home > Computers > Laptops > Gaming Laptops).

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