When should you use a secondary navigation?
You should consider using a secondary navigation when your website has a large amount of content that can be logically grouped into distinct, hierarchical sections. For example, a blog with multiple categories or a corporate site with many product pages.
What are the different types of secondary navigation?
Secondary navigation includes multiple structural formats found within website layouts and they all depend on your site’s design and content. Common types are:
- Vertical sidebars: Menus arranged vertically on the left or right side of the main area.
- Dropdown menus: Menus revealed when a user hovers over a primary navigation link.
- Breadcrumbs: A trail of links showing the user’s path from the homepage to their current page.
What’s the best practice for designing secondary navigation?
Empower your design by prioritizing the following key points:
- Keep it simple: The design should not interfere with the primary navigation or main content.
- Maintain consistency: Use consistent format, design and placement repeated on all website pages.
- Use clear labels: Name all links clearly to correspond directly to users’ understanding.
What are some common mistakes to avoid?
Conversely, analyze some common strategies to avoid:
- Making it too prominent: Maintain a different visual order and different level of emphasis for different navigation levels.
- Overloading with links: Placing an extended list of links in the secondary navigation can be overwhelming or confusing – organize the number of links so the structure is clear and easy to follow.
- Using vague link titles: Select titles that simply reflect the content or destination and try to avoid jargon.
- Neglecting mobile compatibility: Configure the secondary navigation to be mobile-friendly and operate on various devices and screen sizes.
How does secondary navigation impact SEO?
Secondary navigation has a direct impact on SEO performance. It organizes internal site links to create structured relationships among pages. This approach organizes internal links so that automated search engine programs can process site structure and relationships among pages. If the format for internal linking remains uniform throughout the website, automated crawlers can systematically access both the main and subordinate pages. Site navigation data is recorded for the analysis of movement through different sections. Additionally, it may facilitate user navigation, potentially affecting bounce rates and time on page, which are factors considered in search engine rankings.
Conclusion
Secondary navigation refers to an additional menu structure that organizes website pages into categories separate from the primary navigation, consequently enhancing both user experience and SEO rates. This configuration groups related pages at a secondary level for accessibility. As a result, website menus can distribute internal links without combining all items in a single list. Such arrangements are used so both human users and automated systems can locate and process information through multiple menu tiers.
