How to Plan Website Navigation

Website navigation should help a visitor recognise where they are, find the next useful page and recover when they take the wrong route. It is not a complete list of everything on the site, and it should not mirror the organisation's internal departments unless customers think in the same way.

This guide explains how to plan navigation for a small-business or editorial website before visual design begins.

Start with user tasks

List the main reasons people visit the site. Typical tasks include:

• understanding a service;
• checking suitability, location or availability;
• comparing options;
• finding prices or cost factors;
• viewing evidence;
• booking, buying or making contact;
• finding support after purchase.

Navigation should bring the most important tasks within a clear route. It does not need to place every page in the main menu.

Group content in language visitors recognise

Use labels that describe the content rather than the organisation's preferred terminology. “Services” may be clearer than an internal division name. “Guides” may be clearer than “Knowledge centre”.

Test each label by asking someone unfamiliar with the site what they expect to find beneath it. If several interpretations are equally plausible, the label needs work.

Keep the primary navigation focused

There is no universal correct number of menu items. The aim is a manageable set of distinct choices. Combine items that overlap and move secondary destinations to contextual links or the footer.

Primary navigation commonly includes:

• main service or product groups;
• important audience routes;
• resources or guidance;
• about or evidence;
• contact, booking or another primary action.

Legal pages, account links and minor utilities normally do not need equal prominence.

Create a content hierarchy

Arrange pages from broad orientation to specific decisions.

Example hierarchy for a service website

Level	Example	Purpose
Section	Commercial cleaning	Orient visitors to the service family
Service	Office cleaning	Explain a distinct offer
Supporting guide	How office cleaning quotations are calculated	Answer a deeper decision question
Evidence	Office cleaning case study	Demonstrate relevant capability

Not every site needs four levels. Deep navigation should exist only when the content genuinely supports it.

Design more than the header menu

People navigate through:

• the main menu;
• contextual links within content;
• breadcrumbs;
• category or hub pages;
• related guides;
• search;
• footer links;
• calls to action.

A large site cannot rely on one expanding menu to expose every page.

Use hub pages for growing sections

A useful hub page explains the section and gives organised routes to:

• a starting guide;
• major subtopics;
• decision and comparison pages;
• common problems;
• recent or important material.

A hub should not be a long article with no links. Its job is to help the visitor choose a path.

Plan mobile navigation separately

Do not merely shrink the desktop header. On a small screen:

• the menu trigger should be obvious;
• the open menu should have a clear close action;
• touch targets should be comfortably usable;
• submenus should not depend on hover;
• the current section should be visible;
• important contact or booking actions should remain easy to find;
• opening the menu should not lose the user's place unexpectedly.

Test the menu at narrow widths with long British English labels, not only short placeholder text.

Make the current location understandable

Use page headings, selected menu states and breadcrumbs where the hierarchy is useful. Breadcrumbs are particularly helpful on editorial sites and deeper service structures, but they should not replace a clear page title.

Avoid common navigation problems

• two labels that appear to lead to the same content;
• important pages hidden under vague terms;
• a menu organised by internal teams rather than customer needs;
• every page placed in the main menu;
• important links available only in a rotating banner;
• desktop hover menus that cannot be used on touch or keyboard;
• logo behaviour that is inconsistent;
• opening ordinary internal links in new tabs;
• empty categories or tag archives.

Test the structure before design

Give testers several tasks, such as:

• find whether the business offers a specific service;
• check the service area;
• find evidence relevant to a particular project;
• understand how pricing works;
• make contact;
• return to the broader section.

Ask them where they would click first and why. Do not guide them. Confusion at the paper or prototype stage is much cheaper to fix than after development.

Maintain navigation as content grows

Review the structure when new material accumulates. Merge overlapping categories, remove empty routes and update hub pages. Do not keep adding items to the main menu every time a new service or article is published.

A practical navigation record

For each navigation item, document:

• the label;
• the destination;
• the audience task it supports;
• its parent section;
• mobile behaviour;
• whether it belongs in the header, footer or contextual navigation.

The next practical step is to create the hierarchy as a plain text outline and test five customer tasks before anyone designs the menu visually.