ux digest » navigation

Use breadcrumbs for multilevel hierarchies

Verne — Sun, 24 May 2009 04:00:17 +0000

As part of helping your user navigate your site’s content, consider implementing breadcrumbs to compliment your primary navigation. Breadcrumbs are a series of links that show the hierarchical path to the current page a user is on and usually follows the convention of Parent > Child > … > Current Page. If you’re running a site that hosts many different pages that are categorized or organized in some kind of multilevel hierarchy, breadcrumbs will come in handy for the following reasons:

Magicians divx

It helps the user easily identify where they are in the site.
It requires less clicks to return to a parent page.
It can attract users to browse other areas of the site if they’ve entered the site through a child page.

Ideally, breadcrumbs should be used on sites with 3 or more levels (i.e. an ecommerce site).
Breadcrumbs should be in the top half of the site, but below the primary navigation (if it is horizontal).
Breadcrumbs are most commonly horizontal and ordered left to right.
Typically, ‘>’ is used to separate links in a breadcrumb, but anything that implies the parent-child relationship can work.

Source: Breadcrumbs in Web Design: Examples and Best Practices (Smashing Magazine)

Use relevant pagination styles

Verne — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:34:40 +0000

Pagination is found all over the web – from blogs to galleries to directories – and choosing the right style of pagination to use has important implications for how your users sort through your pool of information. Most opt to go with the most common convention of using numbers (Page 1, 2, 3). However, consider how annoying page numbers can be for somebody sorting through a directory of people. On which page do people starting with the letter ‘k’ begin?

Whether you use numbers, letters, dates or any other convention, be considerate of the relevance of your pagination style with the content it is organizing.

Miss Conception movie download Source: Easy as 1, 2, 3? (Good Usability)

Life as a House dvdrip

The Game movie

Kaena: The Prophecy movie download The Last Legion ipod

Remember the Titans dvdrip

Optimize your pathway pages

Verne — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:00:06 +0000

Pee-wees Big Adventure ipod Pathway pages are pages on your site that provides links and information about a collection of individual items (be they articles, products, pictures, etc). Pathway pages usually represent a category or group of items. For example, clicking Patio Furniture on a furniture website’s navigation will bring you to a pathway page that shows all the various types of patio furniture available. From this collection, a user will choose one to explore.

It’s important to recognize the purpose of a pathway page: to help the user find what they’re looking for. As such, pathway pages act more as a supplementary navigation more than a content page.

From Good Usability

When we’re on a pathway page, we’re still on the journey to the content we need. We don’t want to read, we just want to find the link and move on.

The lesson here is to optimize your pathway pages by:

Making it stupid simple to find specific items by laying them out in an intuitive and friendly manner;
Making it easy to navigate to specific items by linking headings, thumbnails and Read More text; and
Decluttering the page by removing all unnecessary content.

The Hoax full movie Source: Good pathway pages (Good Usability)

T.A.C.T.I.C.A.L. divx

Legend dvd Kevin & Perry Go Large ipod

Usability Checklist

Verne — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:00:37 +0000

Websites come in many shapes, forms, designs, colours and layouts. But nearly every site has a common set of elements that subconsciously help the user to identify where they are, what they’re looking for, how to find it, and what to do next. Before you go any further, run your sites through this checklist to make sure you have all the basic elements: a site ID, a page name, a clear navigation, an option to search, an indication of the user’s current location, a tagline or site description, and a sense of the site’s page hierarchy.

Source: Quick Usability Checklist (UX Booth)

Cadillac Records divx

Avoid common usability issues

Verne — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:16:23 +0000

Avoid some of the most common usability pitfalls by ensuring that you:

Keep the main site navigation consistent throughout the entire site.
Set expectations when it comes to the number of steps/stages required on a web form.
Keep copy concise and to-the-point and break paragraphs up using headings.
Make links distinct. Nightmare Man video
Let users access the information they’re searching for as easily as possible.
Make your contact information easy to find.

Source: Common Web Site Usability Issues to Avoid (Ranting & Raving)

Ranting & Raving also offers a great list of 10 Commandments of User Experience. articles on cytotec