Website navigation: a menu people do not have to decode
By Pixit
Navigation sometimes becomes the place for everything that did not fit elsewhere. Ten labels, internal department names and a submenu requiring remarkable pointer accuracy. We prefer giving the menu a simpler job: help someone choose where to go next without first understanding how the company is organised.
Group pages around the reader's questions
Your organisation chart may not match the way customers think. A visitor wants a service, an example or a contact route. They should not need to know the internal name of a department to find it.
Write each page on a card and group them by question: what do you do, who is it for, how does it work and how can someone start? Name the groups plainly. A label that needs a spoken explanation will probably demand the same effort when placed in a menu.
Give each level a distinct role
Primary navigation provides the main directions. A category page can then help compare options. The footer can hold additional useful links without becoming the only route to a major service.
Fewer menu items are not automatically better. Removing a useful entry can create extra searching. Look for overlapping choices instead: “Solutions”, “Services” and “Expertise” should not lead to three almost identical lists. Each choice should help someone predict what lies behind it.
Keep people oriented after the click
Indicate the current page or section, use consistent labels and provide a route back to the broader view. On an article, “Back to the Journal” gives more context than an unexplained arrow.
An accordion can work well in a busy administration area: opening one group closes the previous group. Keep the interaction predictable. The visible panel, indicator and state available to assistive technology should agree. A tidy menu is not useful if its controls describe a different state from the screen.
Treat mobile navigation as a complete journey
Test opening the menu, choosing a group, following a link and closing the panel. Links should remain reachable on short screens. Essential choices cannot depend solely on hover, which does not translate into the same interaction on touch devices.
Check keyboard use too: can someone reach the controls and see the focus? Use buttons for opening panels and links for destinations. Clear semantics are easier to understand and maintain than a collection of clickable areas with no obvious role.
Observe someone using the menu
Give a new visitor a few specific tasks: find an offer, view a relevant project and contact the studio. Notice their first choice and where they go backwards. Repeated hesitation deserves investigation even when everyone on the team knows the menu by heart.
At Pixit, we save creative labels for places where they add something. In navigation, clarity is already a form of good design. People do not need to admire the information architecture. They need to find the information.
