Designing Effective Web Navigation 4/2002

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VIII. Global Navigation

A Web site's overall navigational scheme may be broken down into a series of complimentary navigational pieces. These pieces are the global, local (sub), supplemental, and contextual navigation. A Web site's global navigation serves as the major roadmap and compass for users accessing the site. Much as a site's mission and audience define the content of a site, the site's content and audience define the navigational scheme. The amount and complexity of the site's content greatly influence the style of the global navigation. A large site, with loads of content, would require a more robust navigational system, than that of a site with little content.

The characteristics of the target audience will also help to determine what navigational style to use. The use of heavy Java Script or Flash navigation might be dependent upon the technological skill level of the site's users. Although Flash has achieved almost a 99% penetration rate for all Internet users (Macromedia 2002), its use for navigational systems should be used sparingly. Unless your site has a very well defined user base in which all are accessing the site via platforms with Flash player installed, Flash should not be used for global navigation schemes. Flash currently comes preinstalled on Windows 98, Me, XP, MAC OS 8 and up, Internet Explorer 4.0 and up, and Netscape 4.06 and up. Another issue to consider is that users who set their browser security level to "high" in Internet Explorer won't be able to see any Java Script navigational elements. However, "high" is not a default setting, and a user who has intentionally reset the Internet security setting should understand the ramifications of their action.
The use of any dynamic menu systems should be thought through thoroughly. Many users, particularly senior citizens, young children, and anyone with motor skill problems, may have trouble navigating these systems. One such navigational system is present on MSNBC's Web site (www.msnbc.com). The site requires the user to manipulate up to four different levels of dynamic menus [see figure 1]. A task that can prove troublesome for even the most experienced Internet user. Another issue that needs to be considered when designing a navigational system is accessibility for disabled users.

Most sites currently fall short of being accessible to disabled users. Many sites feel that disabled users will make up only a tiny portion of their target population, and therefore neglect to build their sites with the disabled in mind. Governmental agencies on the other hand, are required to meet a set of criteria that ensures the accessibility of all users. Sites that are required to meet the criteria include federal, state, and local governmental agencies, as well as government contractors. Section 508 of the rehabilitation act is the legislation that sets the guidelines for Web accessibility. An in depth discussion of section 508 is beyond the scope of this paper, but more information can be found at (www.section508.gov). Another set of standards has been established by the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The details of this initiative can be found at (www.w3.org/wai). The WAI is designed to give all Web developers a set of guidelines to follow in order to make their sites accessible. As a rule of thumb, all sites should at least conform to the Priority 1 guidelines that are specified.

Figure 1

The following screen shots exhibit a few of the most commonly used Web site navigational schemes. These schemes represent some of the widely used navigational systems on the Web. For most sites, it's important to use what people already understand. The World Wide Web offers very little formal standards in terms of design. However, when certain styles are used frequently across the Web, they begin to become default standards. Designers shouldn't try something different just for the sake of being different. This isn't to say that designers and developers can't get creative with their navigational schemes, just that it should support the sites mission and audience. If a site is catered to Web professionals or graphic designers, then the site can take more liberty in the design it uses.

Figure 2

Strong (www.strong.com) uses "tabs" to represent its global navigational elements. Figure 2 shows how the tabs indicate that the user is currently on the home page. Users find this scheme rather intuitive, because it mimics a traditional paper based file system.

Figure 3

Gartner (www.gartner.com) adds a variation to the global "tab" style by utilizing dynamic drop down menus that appear as the user rolls over global navigation. The dynamic menus that appear reveal the sub navigation [See figure 3]. Using these dynamic menus makes it easy for users to access other content sections from all areas of the site.

Figure 4

The New York Times (www.nyt.com) chooses to display their global navigation as a left hand menu [See figure 4]. This particular site displays both global and sub navigation in the left hand navigational menu. Many sites utilize a dynamic left hand navigational scheme, in which global elements expand to reveal the sub navigation when the user clicks on them. Keeping all of the navigational elements in one general location provides consistency for the user.

Fox News (www.foxnews.com) adds to the concept of a left hand navigational menu by displaying dynamic menus upon rollover [See figure 5]. This particular style provides a consistent navigational location, while at the same time allowing for easy access to other sections of the site.

Figure 5

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