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Designing Effective Web Navigation 4/2002
XI. Supplemental Navigation Supplemental navigation is used in conjunction with the other standard navigational systems. The two most frequently used supplemental navigation methods are site maps and search engines. A. Site Maps The purpose of a site map is to give the user an encompassing view of what content the site has to offer. It can be an extremely valuable method of giving the user insight into the structure and content of a site. However, less than half of Web sites have them (Nielsen 2002). It's important to label the site map what it is, a "site map", rather than "site index", "table of contents", etc. 63% of sites offering a site map label it "site map" (Nielsen 2002). So it makes sense to stick with what people already know. The number one rule to designing an effective site map is to keep it simple. Many developers try to be too creative by developing interactive or dynamic site maps. Some sites offer site maps in which the user must click on an icon to reveal what content lies behind it. Other sites employ dynamic dropdown or rollover menus to display site content. These methods defeat the purpose of the site map. Users usually visit a site map for only one reason, and that is they can't find the content they are looking for. The user should not have to navigate or interact with the site map. Other designers try to emulate a physical map or some other type of creative presentation for the site map. However, the most effective way of displaying site map information is to clearly and logically list the content under the site's relevant sections and subsections. Sapient (www.sapient.com) does a nice job of logically and concisely listing their site's content. [See figure 8] Figure 8
B. Search Engines Users usually turn to a site's search engine after they have failed to locate the information they are looking for using the global and local navigation. However, some users also use the search engine as their first means of navigation on a complex site that they are unfamiliar with. Unfortunately sites offering an efficient yet thorough search mechanism are few and far between. Developing a robust search engine for a large site is no small task. Companies with in house Web development teams may build their own site search engine using programming languages such as CGI, PERL, and XML. There are also many third party vendors, such as Inktomi (www.inktomi.com), who offer search engine software that can be integrated into an existing Web site. For complex sites, search boxes should be placed directly on the home page. Users shouldn't have to link to another page before they can use a site's search feature. ZDNET (www.zdnet.com) offers an excellent search engine powered by CNET's Search.com (www.search.com). The search results are displayed by category [See figure 9]. This is extremely helpful in clarifying the search results for the user. Many sites simply return a list of all results containing the search criteria, and are indifferent to the content's context or category. Figure 9
C. Breadcrumb Trails A Breadcrumb Trail, sometimes referred to as a path analysis, is an effective way to communicate to a user where they are within a sites hierarchy. They also provide a way for users to backtrack their movement within a site without having to rely on the browser's "Back" button. Breadcrumbs also provide a way for users to orient themselves by acting as a position indicator. Gdoss.com (figure 7) displays a breadcrumb trail that informs the user that they are located at "America's Race for 3G" within the "Research" section, displayed as "Research: America's Race for 3G". Gartner (figure 3) also utilizes a breadcrumb trail, displayed as "Consulting > Architecture/Technology" |
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