Heads up! To view this whole video, sign in with your Courses account or enroll in your free 7-day trial. Sign In Enroll
Well done!
You have completed Information Architecture!
You have completed Information Architecture!
Preview
In this video, we learn about why navigation systems are important for you and your users.
New Terms:
- Global navigation - menu that shows the main sections of a website
- Local navigation - sub-menu that shows the main links within a section of a website
- Breadcrumbs - links that show where the current page is located with the sections or levels of the website
- Contextual links - links within the text in the body of a page
Further Reading:
Related Discussions
Have questions about this video? Start a discussion with the community and Treehouse staff.
Sign upRelated Discussions
Have questions about this video? Start a discussion with the community and Treehouse staff.
Sign up
So far we've talked about
organization structures and
0:00
schemes, as well as labeling systems.
0:03
The next IA principle
is navigation systems.
0:05
Menus are a big part of establishing
a system of navigation for your users.
0:09
But to be clear, navigation refers to all
the systems you put in place on a website
0:14
or app to help people navigate, to help
them get around from place to place.
0:19
And it's more than just showing people
what they could do by putting up a menu.
0:25
It's also about giving them options in
the right place and at the right time,
0:29
so they can move around quickly and
easily and find what they need.
0:34
So let's think about all the different
ways you can navigate a website.
0:39
The first type of navigation
many people look for and
0:44
use is a global navigation menu.
0:47
This shows you the big sections of
a site and helps you get a sense
0:50
of the entire structure and organization,
so you know what's there and where to go.
0:54
These menus may be simple ones or
contain multiple options,
1:00
like pull-down menus with lots
of choices within each section.
1:04
Then you've got local menus,
1:08
which are the sub-menus you might
see when you click into a section.
1:10
The global menu is still there, but
1:15
the local menu shows you how information
within a single section is structured.
1:17
You might also see breadcrumb links.
1:22
These links show you level by level where
you are within the structure of a website,
1:24
so you don't get lost.
1:30
And also, so
you can discover related content.
1:31
You might also have contextual links,
which are links within the text on a page.
1:35
These links might appear within
the context of descriptions,
1:40
directions and other content.
1:44
So if you need more info on
whatever you're reading about,
1:46
you can click and get it.
1:50
And you might also see related links,
1:52
which are usually displayed automatically
based on the content you're looking at.
1:55
So on some pages you'll see sections
literally called related links.
1:59
Or on retail sites they could be
a customers also viewed section.
2:04
These links help you find similar
content and keep you on the site.
2:10
So if you've seen these types
of navigation systems before,
2:14
the benefits shouldn't surprise you.
2:18
They establish website structure and
scope, so
2:20
users know what's on the site and
what they can do there.
2:23
They provide pathways and visual cues to
help users figure out which way to go.
2:28
This is especially helpful when new users
arrive, so they can get started easily.
2:33
Local menus provide extra flexibility.
2:39
You can show these menus when you need to,
and
2:42
you don't have to clog up a global
navigation menu with lots of extra links.
2:45
Related links are great too,
2:50
because they expose more content
to users once they've arrived.
2:52
YouTube does this amazingly, showing
you lists of related videos to keep you
2:56
watching Minecraft gameplay
until 3 in the morning.
3:00
But one of the big benefits of using
navigation systems is that you can use
3:04
them to guide users down certain
pathways you want them to follow.
3:08
Remember, that while
user goals are important,
3:12
your goals are equally
vital to keep in mind.
3:15
So if it's important to get people to,
say, register on a site,
3:20
or buy something,
providing navigation links and
3:24
pathways to those important
functions should be a priority.
3:28
Instead of burying that content or
3:32
those functions, you make them a prominent
page of your navigation systems.
3:34
So you might see now how you
could combine these ideas about
3:40
navigation with our previous ones on
organization, structures and labeling.
3:44
For example, when you figure out
how you wanna divide up content,
3:48
many times you'll build navigation
menus that mirror that structure.
3:52
We also mentioned before that labels
are like signals for users to follow.
3:57
And so if that's the case,
4:02
your navigation would be the paths
they take based on those signals.
4:03
So, ultimately,
4:09
your goal with navigation systems is to
set up the right paths for your users.
4:11
Ones that lead to essential groupings
of content, website or app functions,
4:16
and spots where users will complete
tasks that satisfy your goals.
4:21
You need to sign up for Treehouse in order to download course files.
Sign upYou need to sign up for Treehouse in order to set up Workspace
Sign up