The navigation menu is a critical element of any website, and we are not exaggerating when we say that it should be taken seriously. Visually, it can be anything: vertical, horizontal, made up of icons or “floating”, but there is one prerequisite – to help the visitor find the necessary sections, serve as a guide and support.
Do you agree? Then let’s talk about the most relevant menu design options. The article will be especially useful for those who have not made a website yet, but are going to do it in the very near future. So, to the point! Read more on https://fireart.studio/wordpress-web-design-services/
Horizontal menu
The most popular option, and this popularity has quite understandable reasons. The horizontal menu is ordinary in the best sense of the word. It does not surprise anyone and does not cause confusion, everyone knows where to look for it and how to use it. If you want people to feel comfortable and not rush around the site in search of the desired section – stop at this option. By the way, this is a good solution for sites with a lot of additional sections and pages.
Vertical menu
Those looking for something more interesting will probably be interested in the vertical web menu design located on the left side of the site. It is not as conservative as horizontal, but also not too extravagant. We think this is a great option for a blog: the menu is on the left, the text and photos are in the center, no one bothers anyone.
Hint: if you choose this option, keep the section titles short.
Fixed header menu
If you have a lot of text on your site and the site itself is long scrolling, consider placing the menu in a fixed header. Then it will be before the eyes of the reader, regardless of which section he is currently in. It is also better to add the logo and contacts to the header, so that this information is always at hand.
Floating menu
As a modern person using the Internet, you have probably seen it, and more than once. This menu is especially suitable for “long” pages and mobile sites, because it is visible anytime, anywhere, and it helps the user to quickly navigate to the sections they need.
Menu from icons
Pictures are more eloquent than words, so the menu of icons looks very expressive. How to do it? Very simple. Instead of writing “Home” or “Contacts”, use the house or envelope icon. If you want to show that you have a shopping section on your site, add an icon with a cart or basket. The advantage of this menu is that your site looks unusual and fresh. There are also disadvantages: if the user is not too experienced, he may not guess where to click.
Menu at the bottom of the page
Do you want to break the tradition and do everything your own way? Place the menu at the bottom of the page. An ideal solution for sites with video or photographs as a background: the menu is located at the bottom, does not obscure the picture and does not draw attention to itself.
Hint: select the block with the menu with a different color so that it does not merge with the background.
The role of the menu in the process of website promotion
The following criteria can influence the final search results:
- Successful navigation and competent internal linking are factors of internal optimization. This is a convenience for people and a positive rating from search engines. A clear interlinking will help the user navigate, see links to interesting sections. This option is considered convenient when you can get to the desired material in 3 clicks.
- If the content is interesting, the person will spend longer time on the website. Search engines will consider this as a positive outcome for behavioral factors.
There is one more important point. In web development, when designing sites, it is considered correct to develop a structure based on the semantic core. That is, you first need to collect and structure information about all topical search queries. The highest frequencies will form the basis of the section headings. Accordingly, it is better not to invent the names of menu items with a creative copywriter, but to coordinate with a seo-specialist. It will tell you how often people search for this or that information, this will help form intuitive names.
If the links are designed as graphic elements, you need to add alt and title to the links. Then the robots will be able to take these points into account when indexing.