If you can find your way around a site and find your way back to the home page at any time from any page, the navigation is well designed.

The focus of good navigational design is organization, not graphics. Although creative graphics can add to the aesthetic value of the navigation, your primary goal is to make it easy for visitors to find their way to and from any part of the site you design.

This article will discuss three different types of navigational structures that can be used to design an effective Web site.

Representation of Sequential Navigation

A sequential design is the most popular type of navigation structure for a Web site. This design is based on a sequence of pages that lead the user to a specific sequence of links.

Each linked document covers a main topic in a sequence of information, while sub-topics that cover related information can also be accessed.

Sequential navigation has a very familiar look to the user. It basically follows the structure of a book, where the reader goes sequentially from chapters to sections and then to subsections.

Representation of Hierarchical Navigation

A Hierarchical structure is another common type of navigation structure for a Web site. This navigational structure features a series of author-defined paths, all of which start from a common point, (i.e. a home page). The pattern followed is a "top-down" hierarchy of pages. All documents are linked under a common home page. Linked documents can cover a main topic where a topic overview is given, followed by sequential or even hierarchical sub-topics.

A hierarchical navigation structure has a very familiar look to the user. A hierarchical design looks like a "tree" with "big branches", "small branches", "leaves", "flowers", "fruits", etc.

Representation of Grid Cluster Navigation

Grid Cluster navigation is a more complex structure than the ones previously discussed. This design gives flexibility to the advanced user's navigational possibilities.

The idea is that all topics have the same weight of importance. One disadvantage to this type of navigation design is that it can cause the user to get lost in cyberspace.

A Grid Web Cluster can be used for a home page design with a large image map or other graphic It can also be used for a Technical information page in the form of a two-dimensional complex table.

Sequential, Hierarchical and Grid Cluster Navigation Structures each have a place in web site design. Choose one that meets the needs of your users and remember that the focus of good navigational design should always be organization.

Plotting Your Course to Successful Navigation
Web Design

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Johnny Martinez,
Graduate Student