Carousel at a glance

Site Genre: Pattern Group A

magnify image Figure B2.1Wal-Mart’s site provides customers with easy navigation and clear signals for finding their way back. They can click on the Wal-Mart logo to return to the homepage, on the tab row at the top or the navigation bar on the left to go to another section, or on the location bread crumbs near the top to backtrack.

Background

Used in any pattern of Pattern Group A (Site Genres) that allows customers to navigate by browsing, and as a requisite element of MULTIPLE WAYS TO NAVIGATE (B1), this pattern makes content browsable through a combination of organization and navigation cues.

Close

PROBLEM

Browsing content on a site can be difficult if the information is not organized, or if there are no clear and consistent navigation cues for finding content and returning to it later.

buy the book to find out more

SOLUTION

magnify image FigureB2.3
Present content in a simple, scannable format that leads browsing readers from one page to the next, while giving them clear navigation markers to make their way back.

Organize your content in several ways, in categories that make sense to your customers and in the intuitive ways that they think about doing their tasks. Build navigation tools and cues that let customers know where they are, where they can go, and how to get back. Build each page with its own reading hierarchy so that customers can scan it quickly.

Other Patterns to Consider

Determine the best organizational schemes for your content by using HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATION (B3), TASK-BASED ORGANIZATION (B4), ALPHABETICAL ORGANIZATION (B5), CHRONOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION (B6), and POPULARITY-BASED ORGANIZATION (B7) separately or in combination. Use CATEGORY PAGES (B8) as directories to content in subcategories. Using SITE ACCESSIBILITY (B9), make it easier for everyone to navigate your site. Give customers ample opportunity to find their way back, by employing NAVIGATION BARS (K2), TAB ROWS (K3), SITE BRANDING (E1), and LOCATION BREAD CRUMBS (K6). On every page, make the content browsable by building a hierarchy of content with a clean GRID LAYOUT (I1), CLEAR FIRST READS (I3), and clearly defined areas with CONTENT MODULES (D2).

Close

 

Pattern Resources

PATTERN COMMENTS

POST A COMMENT and/or EXAMPLE WEBSITE

You must be logged in to post a comment.