Day 13 - Helpful Wayfinding
Wayfinding is 'the act of finding one's way to a particular place’. Wayfinding includes navigation and orientation.
Orientation features to help users know their current location.
Wayfinding features to help users find what they need.
Navigation features help users move around the website.
Well-designed wayfinding enables users to find their way with less effort.
Designing Helpful Wayfinding
Helpful wayfinding can be achieved using the following principles:
Create a unique identity for each location so that the user knows where they are.
Use landmarks (a recognizable point of reference) to provide orientation cues. This can be done by:
giving every page a title
using meaningful headings to describe the main concept
highlighting the current location.
Create well-structured paths by being consistent with orientation and navigation cues. This means labelling the same elements the same way each time. Also, being consistent about the location of menus and links on a page.
Present different things differently by varying the layout and elements of a page or a section of a page.
Provide alternate ways to navigate around a site. This can be done using menus, links, a sitemap, or search.
