Week 3 Reading Response

Chapter 6 - Designing Navigation:

I really loved the analogy that was used in this chapter to explain navigation. I really never thought about website navigation as if I were walking through a space such as a store. It really is very similar in that when you walk through the door, you look for a section, then maybe an isle, and then to a specific type of product. The hierarchy is so important when considering navigation. People will often leave a site if they cannot find something fast enough and so good web design needs to keep the navigation as top priority. I never realized how much people rely on the web as if they were in fact walking through a physical space, and so when an information architect and a designer are building a website they really need to keep that in mind.

There is also great importance on consistency of pages and navigation in order to provide the most pleasant experience for the viewer.  When people walk through a store to find something, they will be able to remember where they went and how they got it, but for someone who is browsing through a website to find something, it is important to provide a structure that they can remember. Search engines also seem to be very important because it provides the user with a tool to quickly search for a specific item. I've never been one to use a search engine on a website, but I could see that if I were frustrated with finding something, how it could really be helpful.

Here are some websites that focus on some of these topics:
Dos and Donts of Website Navigation
Website Checklist - Best Practices
Navigation Trends of 2008