Navigation Labels
Can I See Some ID?

In a nutshell, a label is either an icon or a piece of text that functions as a hyperlink and/or as a header. The title "Web Navigation and Usability" "Twelve Naviagtion and Usability Rules" and  "Tip 9: Navigation Labels" are labels. This seems too easy to bother discussing, but navigation labels are easy to mess up.

Making Labels Work

First of all, be consistent throughout your site. Calling your front page "home" in one place and "main" in another place is confusing. Pick a label and stay with it. Be consistent with your language, too. Use only verbs ("Browse," "Contact Us") or only nouns ("Table of Contents," "Feedback Form"); don't mix the two.

It helps to use labels people will recognize. Over the years, people have grown to understand and expect certain popular Web navigation labels like "home," "browse," "contents," "contact us," "what's new," "help," and "about us." It's tempting to be creative and use "needle in a haystack" instead of "search," but when it comes to labels, you're better off using the conventional.

Be Clear

Morville and Rosenfeld's co-worker Samantha Bailey covered the topic of labels in a February 1997 Web Architect column. Bailey warns of common pitfalls like vague labels, link labels that don't match the titles of the pages they link to, and labels that don't make sense immediately (or ever), like our "needle in a haystack" example.

Avoid the temptation to squeeze all your labels into two or three words, and think about your labels from the point of view of your intended users to make sure they're appropriate. When in doubt, she concludes, consult a librarian.

Jennifer Fleming offers some great examples of misguided navigation labels. How about a restaurant information site with a link to "site map?" Users thought following that link would take them to a map of the restaurant's surrounding area, not to a more conceptual "map" of the site (for more about site maps, check out Tip #10).

Avoid jargon: Fleming's example is "Department of Targeted & Interstitial Marketing," i.e., "ad sales." Finally, don't use ambiguous labels. What's the difference between "home" and "top?" "Help" and "FAQ?" Even "search" and "browse," used on the same page, can be confusing.

Scope Notes Explain It All

Whether your labels are familiar or not, Rosenfeld and Morville suggest supplementing them with "scope notes." Scope notes are text blurbs that appear near the label to explain what the label signifies. The label "About Us" could have a scope note that says "Company philosophy, contact information, job openings, and Frequently Asked Questions." You'll only need to use scope notes the first time you use your label, on the front page. On second and third level pages, users will recognize it.

Next and Back -- Another Viewpoint

Try these examples of next and back