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Dec 10

Horizontal Navigation Menu for Website

Main Navigation Types & Usability
Main navigation, also known as global navigation (if the navigation is always present on each page) is a crucial element for web site or web-based application usability. There are many variations of main navigation systems, however for the vast majority of existing web sites or web-based applications* there are four primary types:

  • Horizontal Menu
  • Vertical Menu
  • Inverted
  • Mega Footer

Which main navigation system is used depends on several variables, including;

  • Information architecture of the site
  • Screen size or typical location of use of the web site
  • User needs including any special accessibility issues

The screen size issue is a very important consideration now that more and more users rely on mobile devices to find and access content and functionality.  With mobile screen size being extremely limited vs. typical displays in homes or offices, It is important to consider which type of main navigation will work best for each environment.
The main navigation type chosen will have a direct and significant impact on the usability of a web site, and because of this great care should be taken before deciding on a navigation type. From a usability standpoint, there are multiple benefits and challenges for each primary type of navigation.
Main Navigation– Horizontal Menu
Horizontal menus have links placed across the page, well, horizontally. This has a tendency to work well for Western cultures, in which reading from left to right, top to bottom is the norm. Horizontal menus align with Western users’s expectations for important content being at the top of a page.

First level horizontal menu items Subject 1, Subject 2, Subject 3
Typically horizontal menu bars are located at the top of the page, but there are several notable exceptions to this rule, including the home page of Blogger.com, which has the main navigation at the bottom of the page.

Blogger.com home page horizontal main navigation is located at the bottom of the page.

This article is from usefulusability.com