Government websites must have a clear and unique
navigation scheme used across all the pages and sections of the website. The
navigation system must be consistent in positioning, size and terminology scheme throughout the whole website. Consistent navigation makes a website easy to use, since a visitor does not need to understand or remember different navigation styles for different sections.
The
navigation scheme
should formulate and regulate the use of the combination of the following main elements:
- Top Menu
- Breadcrumbs
- Left and Right Menus with dropdown or drilldown functionality
- Shortcut links to most popular or essential pages
- Link to a “Site Map” page
Consistent
navigation makes it easy to use a website since a visitor does not need to understand or remember different
navigation styles for different sections. Therefore to promote ease-of-use for all users,
Government websites
must have a
navigation scheme that is used consistently across the website.
The organization and
navigation scheme of the content in the website should be either categorized by subject (topic, tasks, services, life events), by audience group, by geographic location, or by any combination of these factors. The
navigation should not be based on the entity’s organizational structure, as it will render the content from the governments’ perspective rather than the users’.
- The navigation system must be consistent in positioning, size and terminology scheme throughout the whole website.
- The navigation system should be intuitive.
- Navigation levels must be clarified, both visually as a presentation on the screen and technically through the proper mark-up structure.
- Names of the menu items should be carefully chosen to clearly designate the sections they point to.
- Users must be able to reach the homepage from any other page in the website.
- Links to “Under Construction” pages should be avoided as much as possible.
- Links to all levels from the current page up to the homepage should be provided.
- External websites should open in a new browser window.
- Links that navigate to external websites should be differentiated visually from the rest of the page links. See section Buttons, links and Icons.
- A mechanism to bypass repeated navigation regions and focusing directly to content should be provided. This improves accessibility for users of screen readers and other assistive devices.