More website problems...
Have you ever been in an unfamiliar metropolitan area following a map? The street may switch to a one-way (toward you) for several blocks then continue on as a two-way. By the time you circle around and try to find the street again you may be hopelessly lost.
Website navigation should be consistent and predictable or your visitors will get lost. Although there are no set standards for website navigation there are a few common "best practices" that are used. A typical navigation scheme is a set of buttons or hyperlinks, either on the left side or across the top, that take the visitor to a page or section of the website. Sub-pages may be linked from the inside page, or on fly-out or drop-down menus from the links on the main page. Some sites use drop-down menus exclusively.
Creating hyperlinks within the text of a web page is a simple task with website development software. Because of this simplicity many website developers overuse this convenience and create hyperlinks to everywhere within the text. Some of the links may take the visitor to another website, some to pages within the website. Other than using the
"back" button the visitor often has no method to return to the text they were reading.
When designing website navigation, think of your website as organized hierarchically, the same
way the Windows Explorer file system is arranged. Avoid "nesting" pages too deeply unless your site has grown to hundreds of pages. Most website development tools will help you design your navigation structure but it may be important for you to map it out on paper before beginning your site. Some website development tools make it simple to change your mind about navigation, others are not so forgiving.
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