Short answer: Website navigation is the menus, links and signs that let visitors find a page and know where they are. Keep the main menu visible and where people expect it, use the words your customers use, mark the current section and add breadcrumbs on deeper pages. Keep the menu in the same order on every page.
Why navigation matters
Many visitors never see your home page first. NN/g compares arriving from a web search to being dropped off at an arbitrary location in a strange city. Navigation should show not only where you can go but also where you are now.
NN/g calls failing to show the current location probably the single most common mistake it sees on website menus.
What makes a menu easy to use
NN/g’s checklist starts with visibility: hiding the main sections under a single menu is not appropriate on desktop, and the hamburger menu is a necessary evil on smaller screens. Menu links also need to stand out clearly from their background.
| Guideline | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Keep the menu visible | Show the main sections on larger screens; hide them only where space is short | NN/g |
| Put it where people look | The main menu in the header; menus for one section down the left on desktop | NN/g |
| Show where the visitor is | Mark the current section, and add breadcrumbs on deeper pages | NN/g |
| Use familiar labels | Words your customers use, with the key term first | NN/g |
| Keep one order | Repeated menus appear in the same relative order on every page | WCAG 3.2.3 |
From NN/g’s menu-design checklist and its article on you-are-here navigation, and from WCAG success criterion 3.2.3, read November 4, 2026.
NN/g recommends labels that are clear, specific and familiar, not clever. Icons can help people tell options apart, but NN/g says they should support clear text labels, never replace them.
How to plan your website navigation
- List the few sections people look for, in the words your customers use.
- Put them in a visible menu across the top on larger screens.
- Name each item clearly, with the key term first.
- Mark the current section in the menu, and add breadcrumbs on deeper pages.
- Keep the same items in the same order on every page.
- Link the logo to your home page.
- Add a “Skip to main content” link at the start of each page.
Our hamburger menu guide covers the menu on phones. Our breadcrumbs guide shows how to add a trail to deeper pages.
How our own navigation holds up
On November 4, 2026, we read all 424 pages in our sitemaps, 212 in each language, as a visitor would. The header carried the same links in the same order on every one of them.
Every page also had a “Skip to main content” link. 195 of the 212 pages in each language showed breadcrumbs: the guides, articles and Miami pages, where people often land from a search.
The other 17 are top-level pages, such as the home page, the main service pages and the legal pages.
Before you call your menu done
- The main sections are visible on a computer screen.
- Each label uses a word your customers would use.
- The current section is marked in the menu.
- Deeper pages show breadcrumbs.
- The menu keeps one order on every page.
- A skip link leads to the main content.
RememberVisitors often arrive in the middle of your site. Show them where they are, what else is there, and keep it in the same place on every page.
If you want a site whose menu your customers can use without thinking, our web design service can plan it with you.
Quick answers about website navigation
What is website navigation?
It is the menus, links and signs that help visitors find pages and know where they are, such as the header menu, breadcrumbs and page titles. NN/g says navigation should show not only where you can go but also where you are now.
Should I use a hamburger menu on a desktop website?
No. NN/g says hiding the navigation under a single menu is not appropriate for desktop websites. It calls the hamburger menu a necessary evil on smaller screens, where space is short.
Why does the order of menu items matter?
WCAG asks that navigation repeated across pages appear in the same relative order each time. It helps people who rely on spatial memory, and blind users who move through a page in sequence.
Are breadcrumbs worth adding to a small website?
They help on any page people can land on from a search. NN/g lists breadcrumbs among the signs that show where a visitor is, by exposing the site’s hierarchy as a linked path.
What is a skip to main content link?
A link at the start of a page that lets keyboard and screen reader users jump past the header and menu to the main content. WCAG gives it as an example of a control placed consistently on every page.
Sources
Read on November 4, 2026. NN/g: Menu-Design Checklist: 17 UX Guidelines and Navigation: You Are Here. W3C: Understanding Success Criterion 3.2.3: Consistent Navigation. Our own case: every page in our sitemaps, read on November 4, 2026.