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Navigation. Picking the right footer for a design can be harder than it seems. But a good footer can have a great impact—both on the impression you make, and the actual behavior of your visitors. In this article I will show you which footer to pick for the occasion, and have a look at more specific elements you can put in it. I will provide examples from the list of footers I put together on Usabilla Discover.
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Navigation. Hick’s Law has always been a popular reference point for designers. You’ll find it cited in the endless lists of basic laws and principles that all designers should be familiar with. Given our assumed comfort level with this design cornerstone, I am surprised to see so many people getting it wrong. What we think we understand about Hick’s Law as it pertains to Web design is oversimplified and incomplete.
Navigation. When most designers design websites, they don’t pay much attention to links. As long as the link works and takes users to the right page, everything is fine. However, a great user experience goes further than that. There are certain links that should open in new browser tabs, and ones that should open in the same browser tab.
Navigation. The benefit of using a faceted sidebar navigation on your website is that you aren’t vertically constrained by space. You can list as many links in the sidebar as you need. However, this known benefit also has an unknown downside. Listing too many links in your sidebar can lead to faceted overload.
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Navigation. Which is better for users, scrolling or clicking? This is the question that designers have to think about when they’re designing page flow. Clicking offers users a menu of links that take them to a new page. Scrolling offers users all the content divided into different sections on a single page. Many years ago, clicking was the simple answer to this question.
Navigation. Tabs have long been used to show alternative views of the same group of information tabs in software. Known as “module tabs”, these are still used today in web sites. For instance, airline companies such as Ryanair, easyJet and AirMalta use module tabs to enable the user to switch between bookings for flights, hotels and car hire. With the emergence of web sites, tabs started being used for navigation purposes.
Oldie but goodie
Navigation. As web professionals, we all know that the concept of the page fold being an impenetrable barrier for users is a myth. Over the last 6 years we’ve watched over 800 user testing sessions between us and on only 3 occasions have we seen the page fold as a barrier to users getting to the content they want.
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Information Architecture. Before you spend hours debating with your colleagues and clients on how your menus should look, there’s something you should know. Users spend more time with content navigation links than they do with menus. In fact, some users don’t even look at menus. What users look at is page content.
Navigation. Have you ever thought about how your menus are affecting users? Menus are a popular way to allow users to navigate a website. But when they open on hover, they can cause a lot of usability problems that most designers aren’t aware of. The hover myth. Many designers seem to believe that when their menus open on hover, they’re faster and easier for most users to use.
Navigation. Online banking is notorious for poorly thought-through interactive experiences. Chase Online is no exception. Their mortgage screen contains this list of menu options, with one of my most favorite menu options ever. As asked in the comments, this is the default presentation when you first view the menu.
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