It’s no secret that navigation is an essential element of a website’s UX design. If a visitor is unable to get around and find what they seek, they’ll quickly leave. The result: it negatively impacts bounce rates, conversions, and sales.
To avoid that situation, you must create website navigation that is coherent and structured correctly. When visitors are able to explore your site with ease, this provides them with a positive experience – one that encourages them to stick around and invest in your brand.
With this in mind, the following guide covers what is a navigation bar on a website, how to make navigation elements, how to improve navigation, and more!
What Is the Navigation Bar on a Website?
Let’s start with the basics: what is the navigation bar on a website? The navigation bar, also known as a navigation menu, is the main component of a site’s navigational system. Typically appearing in the header or sidebar, it gives users quick access to the site’s most useful pages.
The navigation bar can take on numerous different forms. Here are the most common options found today:
- Horizontal navigation bar: The most prevalent option is the horizontal navigation bar in the header, which lists a site’s main pages side-by-side.
- Dropdown navigation menu: Popular with retailers that sell a wide range of products, a dropdown navigation menu is split into several main categories. Each category has its own dropdown section, which features additional relevant links.
- Hamburger navigation menu: Common with mobile web design, a “hamburger button” – represented by a three-line icon – is clicked by the user for a vertical dropdown menu or horizontal pop-out to appear with page links.
- Vertical sidebar navigation bar: This navigation bar appears to the side of the site’s content, supplying page links via a vertical menu.
- Footer navigation bar: That’s right – not all navigation bars appear at the top of the page. A footer navigation menu is normally used to support the main navigation bar, where it provides additional links not found in the header.
When you think about what is a navigation bar on a website, it’s easy to think about a simple header menu. However, it can take on various forms, feature sub-navigation options, and make an appearance in the footer.
Why Is Website Navigation Important?
Now you know what is the navigation bar on a website, it’s time to take a closer look at its importance. The most vital aspect of website navigation is visitors’ ability to find and access a site’s most important pages quickly – that’s obvious. What’s less obvious, however, is the way that site navigation can play a role in understanding individual pages and the relationships between them.
When a visitor is on a website, they can look at pages and the categories they fall under, which assists them in understanding how everything is connected. This understanding and ease of navigation meet their expectations as customers, which puts your brand in good stead in their eyes.
What’s more, site navigation is also essential for SEO purposes. The more a visitor is kept happy, the longer they will remain on a website. This, in turn, reduces bounce rate – a metric Google uses to rank websites on its search pages.
Tips on How to Improve Website Navigation
You understand what is a navigation bar on a website. You know its importance. However, it’s not merely a case of adding a navigation bar, and that’s the job done. There are various aspects you have to consider for optimising this part of your website.
Below are a few tips on how to design website navigation that boosts performance in this area.
Create a Navigation Bar that Fits Your Website
First of all, you have to create a navigation bar that fits your website’s content. For instance, if it only has a small number of pages, a horizontal or vertical sidebar navigation menu would be appropriate. If you’re dealing with a large volume of pages and categories, dropdown navigation would be a better fit.
The good news is most web builders provide you with all the tools necessary to create a slick, fully-functioning navigation bar. Although if you want to produce a truly customised menu, you’ll have to learn how to make a website navigation bar in HTML – or hire a web developer to do the work for you!
Plan with a Sitemap
If you’re wondering how to make a website easy to navigate, a critical element is to plan ahead. You should determine the categories and pages that will not only be on your website but also those that will feature in your navigation bar. To do this, it’s wise to put together a sitemap.
Creating a sitemap enables you to put together a hierarchy for your pages, including any subcategories they may fall under. This hierarchy could be everything from a primary “About Us” page to various pages found under a “Services” category.
Remember the “what is the navigation bar on a website” section above? Well, you also have a footer to work with when constructing your sitemap. This sitemap lets you add additional page links that didn’t fit within your primary navigation bar.
Links in Moderation
If you’re wondering how to make a website easy to navigate, the saying ‘less is more’ applies. You want to avoid bombarding visitors with an endless list of categories and pages. A minimal approach, which allows users to process the information in front of them more easily, is recommended. Remember that if your site contains tons of information and pages, it is possible to use a dropdown menu to break down content into sections.
Include a Search Bar
For content-heavy websites, search functionality within the navigation bar is a must. Rather than scrolling through a collection of pages, visitors can quickly type in a query to find what they’re looking for on your site.
Conclusion
A navigation bar is a significant component of website design. Now you know what is a navigation bar on a website, along with how to make a website easy to navigate, you can optimise this element of your site and make it more user-friendly for your visitors.
While website navigation bars are a fairly straightforward part of site optimisation, plenty more elements exist – and they all come together to ensure your site’s user experience and SEO are top-tier.
Need Help? Get in Touch
If you need help with any aspects of website optimisation and SEO, don’t hesitate to reach out to our friendly experts here at Click Intelligence. We’re gurus of all things web optimisation and digital marketing with decades of experience.
Our talented teams can analyse your site’s on-page and off-site assets, fix errors and any underperforming elements, and develop a killer SEO strategy that’ll send your website to Google’s high rankings – driving that juicy web traffic right to your pages instead of your competitors.
