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Navigation systems are the various ways to move around a site. They are used by the designer to steer the user through the various components of their site.
disorientating <----> I always know where I am
hard to find <----> always within sight
confusing <----> easy to choose; takes me where I expect to go
no site map <----> clear, helpful site map
no frames (optional) <----> helpful frame structure (optional)
A navigation system is important for one simple reason (and many complicated ones): If you don't have a good method of navigating through a site, you won't stay there.
People may not understand it. It risks alienating some users. It may not work when it needs to.
where should it be?
how detailed should it be?
Folder-Tree is a JavaScript that gives Web sites the professional look and feel of Windows Explorer. Click on a folder to open or close it; click on a document to access its contents.
tip | Watch silently while two people try to click through your site, one an inexperienced web user, the other an experienced web user.
On the Web, a frameset is just what it sounds like, sort of like
the dividers in the silverware drawer. The frameset holds two or more web pages.
Here's an example, The
Chemometrics Web Page.
This is one frameset holding three web pages. Do a view source by pulling down
the View menu. Then right-click in each frame and do a view source. You'll see
that the frameset references three separate html files:
chemfram.html
chidxfrm.html
chem1.html
Then right-click in each frame and do a view source. You'll also notice that you
can open each frame in a new window. Note that you can grab the edges of the
frames and resize them. Look what happens when you increase and decrease the
text size (also from the View menu). Click on the links in the left frame and
watch what happens in the right lower frame. If you have a printer available,
try to print the page.
Now read about some problems with frames:
Why Frames
Suck (Most of the Time)
by Jakob Nielsen
Alertbox, December 1996
Frames break the unified model of the Web and introduce a new way of looking at data that has not been well integrated into the other aspects of the Web. With frames, the user's view of information on the screen is now determined by a sequence of navigation actions rather than a single navigation action.
Finally, go to Webmonkey and read more about Frames in the Authoring section of the How-to Library.
If you understand picnics, ... you can understand frames. It's that easy.
On the other hand, frames can be effective and appropriate if you want to quickly put together a presentation of existing web pages for a client. Then make a frameset and a navigation frame on the left displaying links to all the pages in the presentation. You'll be able to click right down in the order you talk about the web pages appearing in the right-hand frame. You'll be able to click back to an earlier page easily. In my mind, this beats PowerPoint.
Navigation
Structures: Building Your Site's Backbone
by Karuna Kapoor
WebReview, April 27, 2001
You have many options on how to build your site navigation and guide your users through the vast amounts of information. Think about the content you will present, the people who will visit, and the message you want them to receive, and plan accordingly. After all, the navigation system you build will be the structural foundation for all of these.
Easier
site navigation goes a long way when looking to satisfy users
by Laura Wonnacott
InfoWorld, August 25, 2000
In building a navigation system, make sure it's consistent throughout the site. It should not only look the same, but it should be located in the same position across all pages. An excellent navigation system requires information to be grouped logically. Users should easily understand both the breadth and depth of the site through navigation. The navigation system should help support multiple views of the content. Finally, the navigation system should also provide an easy avenue home.
Navigating
a Web Site
by Gerry McGovern
ClickZ, September 21, 2000
When you say "web site design," a lot of people immediately think of graphics, of visual design. The core design challenges for a web site revolve around information, not visuals.
Finding your way from point A to point B is tough enough
when there's a good road map, but on the Web there are only hyperlinks to point
the way. Web builders need to design their site navigation so that users can
find their way around without getting lost along the way.
Navigation design is more than a laundry list of links. To help you build the
best navigation scheme for your site, we've collected the best resources on the
Web. We'll point you to the latest on information architecture and interface
design, introduce you to the key personalities in navigation design, provide
help with key navigation issues in JavaScript and style sheets, and even lead
you through the Web's top navigation portals.
Web
Navigation: Designing the User Experience
By Jennifer Fleming
This [dead-tree] book takes the first in-depth look at designing Web site navigation through design strategies to help you uncover solutions that work for your site and audience. It focuses on designing by purpose, with chapters on entertainment, shopping, identity, learning, information, and community sites.
excerpts available online:
Chapter 1 -- Crafting the User
Experience
Chapter 5 -- Interface and
Interaction Design
Configurable
Navigation Systems
by Mike Fischler
ClickZ, December 13, 1999
What drives me nuts is how hard web designers make it for
people to find their way around a web site.
Most web sites are about as focused and convenient to navigate as the bargain
shoe rack. Instead of helping me find my way around, instead of offering
functionality and features that help me get where I'm going and find what I'm
looking for, they lay everything out in a big mishmash of buttons and text
links, then wish me luck getting there.
Plan
Navigation and Page Consistency
WhatIs.com's Creating a Web Site
Your site will succeed or fail in direct proportion to how
well you organize your information. Visitors expect you to make sense of your
info and message, and to suggest some paths through your pages.
Also, there is more to it than just dividing your content into sections. For
your site's interface to succeed your users actually have to stop noticing your
interface and its navigation.
Navigating
Through Analysis Paralysis
by Bryan Eisenberg
ClickZ, May 7, 2001
Despite what many information architects believe, good navigation schemes have little to do with prospects' recall ability. Instead, what's at work is how humans handle choices. So, do you want to follow convention, or do you want to close more sales?
CoffeeCup Software's Applet Navigation Factory
Dipu's DipuTree v3.0 Applet Glide Navigation v1.1 from Using It Software: http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,,0012MN,.html
Auscomp's eNavigator Suite 2000 v6.5
FolderTree: demo
Help your visitors navigate around your site - either with menu lists, random links, etc.
www.magicspherevalve.com - bad doorway
www.newrivergorge.com - demonstrates great skill - but strange application of navigation tools
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