Operation Manual

86 Web Design from Scratch
But the most effective approach, and one that deserves as much
attention as the design of your Home page, involves designing a
navigation bar or “navbar” that will serve as:
♦ An element of the site’s page composition;
♦ A visual reminder of where the user is;
♦ A functional tool to enable jumps between sections of the site.
Wherever it’s placed—across the top, down the left or right side, or
elsewhere—the navbar needs to be considered a fixture of the page
layout. It must never disappear or wander off to another corner. A
typical navbar provides buttons linked to the Home page and the
various section menu pages:
The navbar’s appearance can vary in a meaningful way. For example,
on pages within a particular section, that section’s button could appear
highlighted (using a different color, font style, etc.). As the user enters
each new section, the otherwise fixed navbar will appear to change
state, signaling the transition.
It’s not difficult to create navigation bars using only text, and in fact
pages created with the WebPlus Wizards use these to good effect. But a
well-designed graphical navbar will reward your efforts and set your
site a notch above the others. For further advice, see the Design Tips in
the chapter on hyperlinking.
If you’re not using a navigation bar, at least make sure that each page
has a minimum of one or two hyperlinks, leading to the Home page
and/or related pages. Dead ends force users to rely on their browser’s
“Back” button to retrace steps, and that can all too quickly lead them
away from your site.
The advantage of using a navigation bar is that links to key nodes in
your site structure are built in, and you don’t have to worry so much
about users getting lost. You can devote more of your time to adding
hypertext links (see below) that enhance both your content and the
user’s experience.