by Matt McGee
One World Telecommunications
posted: December 7, 2004
updated: July 17, 2006
The first step in any new web site project is determining the
structure of the site -- the "information architecture" as
some like to call it. We encourage our clients to work in outline
form since most people are familiar with outlines. On a web outline,
the As and Bs are the main sections of your site -- and these sections
are what you link to in the main navigation menu. Here's a very
basic example:
HOME PAGE
A. Red Widgets
B. Green Widgets
C. Customer Service (shipping/returns/etc.)
D. About Us
E. Contact Us
Your main menu is a critical element of the web site. All the
great content in the world is useless if your menu doesn't help
visitors find it. Your menu, like other aspects of a web site,
should be built with both users and search engines in mind.
How Many Links?
Generally speaking, the fewer links in your main
menu, the better. Too many choices often leads
to confusion. We typically recommend to our clients
that the main site menu be limited to no more
than 8-10 links, and less than that is better.
However, we do have clients who are successfully
using menus that have 2x-3x that many links. These
are typically clients with a substantial list
of products or services in situations where we
want users to be able to get to those pages with
one-click from anywhere on the site. See www.iweiss.com
for an example of this. When done right, an expanded
menu with links directly to deep pages can also
help with search engine rankings.
Menu Location?
As you've used the web, you've surely seen sites that have a
menu across the top and others with a menu on the side of the page
(typically the left side). The "size" of your menu often
determines whether it should be placed on the top or the side of
a page. If you only have a few links in your menu, and they can
be phrased relatively briefly, a top menu may work fine. See our
home page, www.owtweb.com, for an example -- we
have six links stretched across the top of the page. If your site
has more options, you may have to use a side-based menu. And some
sites require both! There's not really a "right" or "wrong" here.
You have to consider the pros and cons of each location and choose
which one will be best for your visitors.
Buttons or Text?
If it's critical that you rank well in search engines, you'd
give yourself a better chance by using text links in your main
menu rather than graphical buttons. Text links allow you to get
good "anchor text" from your own site. Anchor text refers
to the words used in a text link, and they are a very important
factor in most search engine algorithms, especially Google's. Refer
again to owtweb.com -- those are all text links
across the top of the page.
The downside to using text links is that text is rendered differently
from one browser to the next, and from PCs to Macs. Text generally
appears about 20% larger on PCs than on Macs, for example. So if
you use text links you really must test your site on different
computers and browsers to make sure there's no word-wrapping going
on, or anything else that can break your design. If you have a
limited space for your menu, it's best to use graphical buttons
because you can control the design better. For an example, see www.ppstraining.com --
we had a very small area on the left to use for the menu, and those
lengthy phrases would never have fit as text.
Choose Your Words Carefully
Whether you use text links or graphical buttons for your menu,
choose your words carefully. Keep the button names as simple and
direct as possible -- creative wording will only confuse visitors,
and a confused visitor rarely turns into a customer. For example,
rather than calling one of your links "Cool Stuff", call
that link "Articles and Links" -- give the user a specific
idea of what they'll get when they click the links.
This is also important for search engine rankings if you're using
text links. The names of your links should match your important
keywords. If you sell red widgets, use "Red Widgets" as
your text link instead of "Products".
One last bit of menu-related advice: It's a good idea to duplicate
your main menu at the bottom of your site design. This is especially
important if you have even moderately lengthy pages. But it's also
difficult if you have a menu of more than 8-10 options. Duplicating
the menu at the bottom of your design will allow people to navigate
your site conveniently without having to scroll back up after reading
a page. If you're using graphical buttons for your main menu, the
bottom menu should be text so you can take advantage of the anchor
text ideas discussed above.
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