Once people generally know who you are and what you do, they need clear paths to the content that interests them. Information architecture is a huge topic, but these points cover some of the basics.
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Main Navigation is Easily Identifiable – Almost every site on the web has had a main menu since the first browsers came on the market. Make your main navigation easy to find, read, and use. If you have two or more navigation areas, make it clear why they're different.
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Navigation Labels are Clear & Concise – Don't say "Communicate Online With Our Team" when "Contact Us" will do just fine. Your main navigation should be short, to the point, and easy for mere mortals to grasp.
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Number of Buttons/Links is Reasonable – Psychologists like to argue about how many pieces of information we can process, but if you start to get past 7-or-so menu items, think hard about whether you need them. If you've got 3 layers of flyaway Javascript menus, do yourself a favor and start over.
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Company Logo is Linked to Home-page – This may sound minor, but people expect logos to link to home-pages, and when they don't, confusion follows. I've seen video of users selecting a logo over and over, with no idea what to do next.
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Links are Consistent and Easy to Identify – The underlined, blue link is a staple of the web. A little artistic license is ok, but consider at least making your links either blue or underlined. Links should stand out, and you should use them sparingly enough that they don't disrupt your content.
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Site Search is Easy to Access – If you have a site search, make sure it's prominent. Usability guidelines tend to prefer the upper-right corner of the page. Keep the button simple and clear - "Search" still works best for most sites.
The Global Navigation on the agency web site is maintained by
Tyler Wisconsin. You may also set up local navigation. We have provided definitions and examples of both
types of navigation for you to review.
