Top 6 Steps to Improving Navigation

1. Include Navigation and Labeling in a User Test

This is the best way to get started cleaning up and restructuring. There is no better way of finding out how your users interact with your site than actually watching real users interact with your site.

Labeling is crucial to the success of a website. Terminology varies from person to person. It is essential that your site's terminology is relevant to your site's audience and evolves accordingly.

2. Analyze Your Tracking Data

You may want to utilize at least one other research method, such as surveys, card sorts, and content inventories.

3. Make Your Navigation Consistent

After gathering your user data, it’s time to start designing your new navigation and this is a good place to start. Consistent navigation is the first rule to follow. It gives users a chance to learn how it works and trust it.

Crafting consistent navigation will become easier as you develop your information architecture skills.

4. Use Good Wireframing Techniques

This will help keep you and your navigation focused and clear.

Navigation often breaks down, leaving the user confused and frustrated, when you begin building and correcting without a plan. A wireframe forces you to organize the way you group and prioritize within your site. In the end, it will help with the site consistency.

5. Take Another Look at Important & Unique Sections of Your Site

It’s good to remind yourself of this.

We look at the important section of our sites because if there is a navigation problem within this area it is bound to cause a great deal of trouble. Whether your site's goal is to sell or inform, the aspects that are the keys to your success must have well-monitored navigation.

Those parts of your site that are unique are the ones that are likely to trip-up your users. That which is unfamiar can be confusing. Keeping navigavtion consistent here is a must.

6. Accomodate Multiple Languages

It is important to keep this in mind if you site is or may be internationalized. Examining language and your audience may require you to take a second look at your audience. This step is just another example of how your site's audience should really inform you navigation. Making sure that your site can speak the same language as your audience is the most basic step to accomodating them, but, if not considered, it can be the surest way to lose users.