Web designers always have to strike a balance between usability and visual appeal when they are designing a website. Without this balance, a website will be nice to look at but hard to navigate. Or, it will not be pleasing to the eye, but with easy navigation. With that in mind, balancing between attractive navigation and usability doesn't seem all that difficult. To help you generate new ideas and inspiration as you create custom menus, here are 30 great examples of both beautiful and user-friendly navigation menus.
Typographica
This site combines the simplicity of an attractive menu which at the same time provides the user with an undeniably very easy navigation. If you hover over the heading below the logo, you will see that the word "Type" remains highlighted, hovering over the rest of the words will allow you to precisely select the appropriate section of the site you wish to visit.
Contrast.ie
The navigation on Contrast.ie is an example of a unique approach to creating creative menus. All buttons are placed in the drawn comments figures and pop up when hovering over.
Search Inside Video
Navigation on this site clearly guides you through the arrows as you hover over them with your cursor. Efficient navigation leaves behind complex design. It seems that this site is fully consistent with this expression.
This site celebrates creative navigation. If you look to the left and hover over the guy you will see how he will smile, if you hover over the icons and pictures you will immediately see a description next to the mouse pointer.
Forty uses creative image based navigation. Arrows draw the user's attention to the buttons and encourage them to click on them.
healogix
Healogix asks the most important questions in huge letters that grab the attention of users. When, what, why and who? All questions are answered in one click from home page.
Ideas on Ideas
The site has only one link to the main page, but it is both convenient and creative. The link catches the eye and even "speaks" to the user. And most users like pages they can interact with.
Sarah Longnecker
Navigation on this website is simple and easy to use. Banners behind the selected page make the navigation elements easily distinguishable from the rest of the page.
Made By Elephant
Made by Elephant uses a large and easy to use navigation menu. The blue text also contrasts nicely with the darker reds and blacks.
Work at Play
As you navigate through the menu items on this site, you will notice that the background position and color of the entire page change quickly.
clear left
The menu on this site looks like a post it sticky note when you hover your mouse over the links. The template of this site is entirely built on this concept.
Pattern Tap
As soon as you enter the site, you are greeted by a green arrow that provides you with information on each section you enter on the site. This allows users to easily interact with the site.
Unstoppable Robot Ninja
The navigation is as cool as the name of this site. What's more, it also improves the design a lot.
Red Nose Day
Polar Gold
This text-based navigation menu combines a bright and eye-catching appearance with the convenience of using Javascript, but using Flash instead.
Webpage FX Blog
A unique and interesting take on navigation. Links to homepage and blog are inserted into the sentence along the page header. This does not violate the principles of usability, the page is easy to read and very effective.
Opera Ma-g?
The navigation menu items are easy to find, the green underline creates the effect of the unity of the navigation elements and the rest of the page.
Owltastic
Owltastic is an example of a great user experience. Each navigation element reacts with animation when hovering over it. Like other examples on this list, the navigation is beautiful and easy to use.
Guillaume Pacheco
Like Owltastic, this website interacts with the user when hovering over various elements pages. The site template is well-executed and easy to navigate.
Full Cream Milk
Full Cream Milk uses clear, text-based navigation. When you hover your mouse over the links, the top of the page is highlighted. This is a great example of navigation that is pleasing to both users and search engines.
Arca Lui Noe Hotel
The navigation on this site is both beautiful and easy to use. It is very stylish and fits well with the overall design of the page.
Sushi & Robots
Sushi and Robots uses elegant design to create a beautiful and attractive navigation menu that stands out from others.
Sharify uses a monochrome custom navigation menu that is pleasing to the eye and comfortable due to the contrast between the white text and the sky blue background.
Stephen Caver
Here, navigation is the first thing you notice when you enter a site. It is "clean" and easy to use. Moreover, the use free space Navigation is excellent.
Thought and Theory
This site has taken a minimalist approach to navigation, and it just works. There is nothing superfluous on the pages that would distract users.
Slightly More
Again, the high contrast of black and white gives this site more usability. When hovering over with the mouse, the navigation elements light up in bright blue, adding interactivity and aesthetic value to the site.
Ulster Grocer
The navigation uses bright colors, ease of use and harmony of page content with a blue background.
Adaptd's site uses creative, clear, and beautiful navigation. The most prominent aspect of this navigation is in the portfolio section. When you place the mouse cursor over the buttons, the labels become transparent and blend into the background of the site.
Sac Jazz Festival 2009
This site has a navigation menu that the user does not even have to figure out. In addition, the appropriate menu colors add even more color to the entire page. The design elements fit together flawlessly.
- Currently 1.00/5
In this article we will talk about what should be good navigation on the site, and how to make it really effective. The material is useful primarily to those who want to create their own website.
Navigation is the methods, tricks and special elements that allow you to move between its pages.Everything depends on how well it is thought out: both the conversion and the success of the resource promotion.
This can be compared to the layout of a house. If the layout is good, then you can easily find the room you need, do not confuse the entrance to the kitchen with the entrance to the living room. If there are a lot of moves, corridors and doors, then you can get lost in such a house.
Likewise with websites. If the navigation is bad, there are many links that do not lead to the right place, or it is not clear where they will lead, users are confused and cannot find the necessary pages and the information they need.
For search engines good, logical navigation is also important. search engine should understand the role of this page on your site. Well-designed navigation also improves behavioral factors because users can find the information they need faster.
Basic elements and navigation techniques
I suggest that you first familiarize yourself with the main elements that help you navigate the site.
Navigation in a broad sense includes many techniques and elements, the main task of which is to allow the user to go to desired page and get information.
One of these elements, which has long been mandatory on the site, iscompany logo, when clicked, we get to.
For example, here it is enough to click on the logo to be back on the start page.
This technique is already familiar to users, and allows you to return to the home page from any page of the site.
The second "classic" element isTop Menu .
It is located under the header and consists of buttons or links that lead to the main sections of the site. Such a menu can be more complex, with drop-down lists that lead to subsections or individual pages.
In the last few years, another technique has become popular - this ishamburger menu, in which all links are hidden in the schematic three horizontal dashes. This element first lived only on mobile devices, but now it is increasingly common on desktop versions of sites:
Also on some sites you can seevertical menu. It is used most often if the top menu could not fit everything you need, or if you need to make it easier for users to navigate to some headings.
Or can it live on its own, without horizontal menu at the top of the page. And there may even be several such menus, as here - on the left and on the right:
(micro markup) is another navigation element that not only sets the page hierarchy, but also makes it easy to return to desired section, or to the main page, from any page:
Links within articlesto other pages of the site - these are also navigation elements. For example, these are:
They not only help you move on, but are also good from an SEO point of view - this technique allows you to increase the number of pages viewed.
Links in footer(footer, footer) is another navigation element. Usually, a link to contacts, a user agreement, site usage rules, etc. are placed in the footer. And sometimes you can see a lot of links to different pages sites grouped by category:
On long landing pages, as well as some sites, you can see at the topprogress bar, which shows how far you have scrolled the given page:
The progress bar can also be found in the application and registration forms, if the form is long and broken into several steps.
This makes it easier to navigate the page itself - you can see how much to the end. It is also a small psychological trick that pushes the visitor to finish what he started.
On the long pages and on landing pages you can find another great navigation element -button to quickly return to the top:
This button allows you to quickly return to the top of the page.
To top menu, contacts or other important information were constantly in front of our eyes, the so-called “sticky header”, or “sticky navigation bar” is used. It constantly stays at the top of the page while the user scrolls down.
Here we always have a search in front of our eyes, a logo with the ability to return to the main page, and a small menu.
How to use all these elements with sense and benefit?
How to make site navigation easy
When working on navigation on your site, remember and try to use one simple rule:from the main page to any page of the site, the user must reach a maximum of three clicks. And vice versa.
1. Position the homepage logo in the top right corner.
This is a generally accepted standard, and for good reason: it is in this place that the logo immediately catches the eye. And the user does not have to look for what to click on to return.
2. Consider Primary and Secondary Elements.
The top menu can be primary. Secondary - sidebar, additional links inside the text, in the footer. Breadcrumbs can also act as secondary navigation elements.
Here, the top menu is the main navigation element, and breadcrumbs are auxiliary.
Move the most important sections of the site to the main menu.
3. Consider which pages can be grouped.
If everything does not fit in the top (or side) menu. For example, you can often find an option when some sections of the site are hidden under one button "Information", "More", "More", etc.
Mail.ru mail thus "hid" the company's projects:
4. Find a good place for informational links.
Information links are such as "Contacts", "Public Offer" and the like. The user must find these links on all pages of the site. Therefore, the most suitable place for them is the footer (footer).
Here is a vivid example of such placement of informational links:
5. Don't Forget Design.
All navigation elements should be clearly visible, and it should be clear that a link is a link and a button is a button. Highlight the links with color, make them bold or underline. It is important that the user understands that there is a clickable element in front of him, which will send him to another page of the site.
Here I cannot call the menu successful. Too small font. But here there is a different approach - right from the main page, you can go to the catalog of your favorite brand or view discounts:
6. Don't open pages in new windows.
This confuses users.
7. Additional elements.
Consider additional elements like"Related Products", "Recommended Content" or "Related Articles", that will help the user find what they need faster.
8. Hints.
Simplify navigation withtooltips to help the user understand what the button or icon is for:
9. Leave the menu in a visible place.
Try to make sure that the visitor does not have to look for a new menu on each page. Do not change or remove menus on secondary pages.
10. Don't hide your contacts far away.
Leave your phone number in the header. Make sure that the callback buttons and chat with the online assistant are immediately visible - most commonly at the bottom of the page on the left or right, but not on the side.
The address can be left both in the header and in the footer. Don't force the visitor to look for all this information all over the site.
All these techniques will greatly simplify site navigation, make it easier and more efficient.
Choose hosting for the site:
When working on navigation, think first of all about the user.Will he definitely be able to find everything he was looking for in the shortest possible time? Is everything clear to a person who first encountered not only your site, but also your field in general? Are the pages hidden far away, is it possible to get to each one in a maximum of three clicks?
Think for yourself which sites are easiest for you to navigate, and learn from the best.
Good luck in developing your own Internet resource!
Hello Bikepost!
The season is coming and many are thinking about navigating a motorcycle for long distance travel. Having tried many options, I settled on one not the cheapest, but reliable option, which I will tell you about below.
The essence of this system lies in the phone and its attachment, but since there is often no connection abroad, so I use offline navigation. But why not just use your phone?! - you ask, and I will answer:
- You can change your personal phone quite often (you won’t pick it up for each mount, because the universal mount is very inconvenient)
- What should I do if I receive a call or need to call? Navigation gets lost + you need to remove the mount, then put it back in place - this is not convenient if there is no headset or the helmet is removed
- Often, personal phone costs clearly higher than used iPhone 5
- Losing / breaking a phone for navigation will not be as offensive as your brand new and expensive smartphone + in this case you will have backup option navigation
- It's always good to have an extra camera phone when traveling
- Terrible screen quality
- Huge body size and massive mounting
- Braking, unstable system and inaccurate GPS
- A productive device that won't let you down or freeze at the wrong moment
- Great screen which is visible even in the most difficult conditions
- multimedia player
- Backup phone
- backup camera
- Chassis replacement without device replacement
What can you save on without losing much in quality? For starters, this is a mount, but I do not advise you to choose options cheaper than $ 20, because, as practice shows, such mounts are often very inconvenient. You need a mount that will firmly fix the phone inside and is easy to remove, because often at gas stations we will have to take the phone with us. Here are some analogues for a lower price: iBikeConcole - $39.99; Tigra Sport BikeConsole Bike - 37.90; LifeProof - $29.95; Givi S955B Smartphone and iPhone 5 Holder - 37 lbs. Remember that the ease of use of this system depends on the choice of mount, so you should not save too much on this point.
The second point to save it is Navigation software. There are two options here: cheapest but more complex, free and less reliable. Cheap is to put on the iPhone jailbreak and download hacked versions of the software, but there may be a problem with updating maps. Free option this is using free software for navigation, but here, too, everything is not so simple, since I never rely on just one navigation program And I always have a couple more.
I hope you find my experience useful. With this system, I traveled 3 seasons and did not reveal any objective disadvantages except for the price. Let me remind you that the essence of this system lies in good hardware, a screen, a mount, so if you find a really good mount for Android smartphones, share it in the comments, as Android smartphones they can still carry the function of an onboard computer, but that's a completely different story :).
A few photos from Google to get an idea of what such a bunch looks like on a motorcycle.
Website navigation has become an important aspect of UX design - it can either help or hurt your site. Navigation can be compared to the support of a house. If the foundation plan is not well developed, you put the entire building at risk.
Navigation may vary from site to site; there are no specific instructions on how to do it correctly.
What is navigation?
The term “navigation” can be interpreted in different ways. All in all, it is a key part of the site that allows users to find what they are looking for without extra clicks. It will lead your visitors to the most important information.
What questions will help you prepare your navigation chart?
Who is your the target audience And what is the purpose of your site?
What information and what information modules should be on the site?
How should information be grouped according to its importance to the user?
How to organize functional and information modules in a tree structure?
Navigation planning
How to organize content? How to name and arrange elements?
From the very beginning, have a thorough discussion of the hierarchy in which the information should be displayed:
Work with content. Card sorting can be used to help designers find answers to questions before they even start designing.
Then take care of the structure. Create a sitemap or list with different levels information. Navigation should be as easy as possible. Overloaded pages with obscure menu headings complicate the use of the site. When creating navigation menus, speak to users in their language.
Finally, define the navigation menu items, type, and design.
Remember that there is no standard that defines how the navigation on your site should look like. Rather, it is important to understand what kind of site you are making, what message you want to convey to users, and what goal you need to achieve with it. For example, when creating an online store site, you can use algorithms that allow visitors to find the right product or service as soon as possible and buy it. As for the promo site, you can focus on a quick search for information, involve the user in game process and simplify the main elements for easier navigation.
Navigation Bar Design Trends
There are several popular types of site navigation that you can use for your project. Which one to choose is up to you.
Horizontal or vertical?
The choice between horizontal and vertical navigation is determined by several factors based on design features, usability, and content purpose. Small sites are most often preferred horizontal panel navigation in the page header, while large corporate sites use both horizontal and vertical bars.
Large drop down lists
Scaled dropdowns are a menu bar that "drops out" or "flies out" of the main navigation bar. This type of navigation is not suitable for every site. The main advantage of drop-down lists is that they allow you to show many links at once. So in what cases might they be needed? Large drop-down lists are well suited for online stores with a large list of categories that is unlikely to fit in a standard navigation menu. Accordingly, other sites offering a comprehensive range of services can successfully use such navigation.
Fixed (“sticky”)
A fixed, or sticky, navigation bar does not disappear when the page is scrolled. Correctly, such navigation is used on sites where calls to action are located on the main panel.
Volumetric footer
We are used to seeing links to legal information, widgets with a newsletter subscription or social media icons in the footer. Many sites have a large footer if they contain a lot of content or if they are online stores for which it is important to indicate icons with payment methods.
Responsive design navigation
Responsive navigation makes your site look good on different devices. On mobile devices, the bar usually collapses into a hamburger menu. The menu icon consists of three horizontal stripes, and when opened, the elements are located one below the other, forming the so-called “hamburger”. This kind of menu was created to make it easier to navigate on mobile devices without taking up too much space.
Linking the logo to the home page
Sounds obvious, but there are still sites that flout this rule. When clicking on the logo, users expect to be taken to the home page - this is a common practice.
Primary / Secondary
Most often, primary navigation consists of basic elements that
look the same throughout the site. Typically, the main menus are located at the top of the page in the center, left or right. Secondary navigation consists of additional elements and, as a rule, is located in the middle of the page and is not highlighted by the corresponding design.
Let's take a look at the top 10 website navigation design ideas.
Type: vertical, adaptive.
Click on the menu icon on the left and the main menu will move to the center of the page.
2.WE3
Type: fixed, vertical; located at the top right.
The site design is interactive. When scrolling the page, new information appears.
Type: adaptive, vertical; located on the left.
The navigation in the left panel, which expands from the menu icon, is similar to what you are used to seeing on mobile versions site. Navigation is located to the left of the boarding section and is easily visible.
4 Kennedy Center
Type: horizontal, dropdown list.
You can navigate the JFK Center website in two ways: by dragging images or by using the horizontal menu.
5. B&O Play
Type: fixed, adaptive, horizontal.
The site grabs the user's attention with its product, so the navigation bar is quite simple.
Type: fixed, horizontal, 3D footer, responsive, dropdown.
Long scrolling on the page with the main functions and a large drop-down list will direct users to the desired page.
7. Adriatic Luxury Hotels
Type: fixed, horizontal, scalable dropdown list, 3D footer.
On this site, you can find what you need by simply scrolling down the page or using the fixed menu.
Type: fixed, adaptive, horizontal, 3D footer.
The Kalios navigation is located on the top left. By clicking on the menu icon, you can get information about products by hovering the mouse over the desired product.
This site can be managed by clicking on the arrows. The user can walk through the site like a museum. You can scroll the page of each room to get information.
10 Australian Ballet
Type: fixed, adaptive, large dropdown list
Conclusion
There are many types of navigation that you can use on your site. At the same time, there is no one-size-fits-all way to create the perfect navigation; it all depends on your needs or the wishes of your client. We hope that our examples have inspired you, and the AGENTE team, in turn, will help you realize your most daring ideas.