Breadcrumb Navigation – Enhance your Website’s User Experience

Have you ever gotten lost while browsing a site? In most cases, it is not because of a poorly designed website. Instead, it may be due to the lack of breadcrumb navigation that guides users between where they are and where they should go.

Better breadcrumbs will make your website a lot easier to navigate. This article will look at the different breadcrumb types and discover how they may hinder or elevate the experience. Let’s begin.

What is breadcrumb navigation?

At its core, breadcrumbs consist of a trail of links that reflect the user’s path from their initial visit to the homepage to the current page. It usually appears at the top of the page below the primary navigation menu.

The trail starts with a link to the homepage, followed by links to higher category pages, and ends on the current page. For example, a breadcrumb trail for an E-book on an SEO website may look like this: 

Home > Learning > E-Books > SEO 101.

By offering this clear visual path, breadcrumb navigation guides users through their current location within the website and helps them navigate to other sections if needed.

Why is breadcrumb navigation important in web design?

Firstly, breadcrumbs improve website usability by offering an easy and intuitive way to navigate a website. This lets users understand their location within the website structure and navigate to other categories or previous pages.

This reduces the number of steps users need to take to navigate your site, as they can jump directly to a different section without needing to backtrack through multiple pages. As a result, this will improve user confidence and trust in your website.

Another benefit is its positive impact on SEO. Breadcrumb trails offer additional contextual information to search engines and help them understand your website’s structure and hierarchy.

Types of Breadcrumb navigation

There are three main types of breadcrumb navigation you can implement on your site, depending on your needs and preferences:

• Location-based: This breadcrumb trail type emphasizes the user’s location within the website’s structure. It displays the hierarchy of categories or pages that lead up to the current page.
• Attribute-based: This focuses on the current page’s specific attributes or characteristics. For example, a SaaS website may display the brand, color, and the product.
• History-based: The third breadcrumb trail type shows the user’s past navigation history, allowing them to quickly backtrack through recently visited pages.

Understanding the different breadcrumb navigation types will help you choose the one that best suits your website’s structure and user needs.

Best practices for implementing breadcrumb navigation

Now you know that breadcrumbs are an excellent way of helping users find their way around your website. However, how tricky is it to implement them? We’ll show you the best practices for implementing breadcrumb navigation in this section:

1. Clear labels

The purpose of breadcrumb navigation is to help navigate within the site structure.

Without clear and concise labels for each level in the hierarchy, users may have difficulty navigating your website. Therefore, limit the level of information in your breadcrumbs.

For example, if a page is just one step above another in the hierarchy, your breadcrumb should not include both pages—simply include the higher-level page (such as “Home”).

2. Ensure the location of the hierarchy is obvious

Breadcrumbs are necessary only if people instantly understand them. Color coding can help accomplish this goal.

For example, if your website has multiple levels of navigation, you can color-code each level so that users can easily tell which level they’re on by looking at the breadcrumb trail.

Remember to use clear language for every level to inform users of where they are at every step. For example, instead of only “SEO,” they may already be in the “Technical SEO” section.

3. Consistent placement and styling

Place your breadcrumb at the top of the page and ensure it won’t distract from other content. The ideal location is either above or below the logo, but avoid placing it to the left or right. This ensures it’s visible without being distracted by other elements on your page.

In addition, ensure that your breadcrumb is consistently styled across all your website’s pages. It’s best if it matches the style of other content on your website (like banners and buttons); this will make it seem like it fits the overall design system instead of randomly appearing out of place.

4. Consider responsive design

Imagine a user browsing a website on a desktop and visiting a product page like “Home > Electronics > TVs > Brand X.” The breadcrumb navigation appears horizontally, making it easy for the user to follow the path.

Now, if the same user visits the site on a mobile device, the horizontal breadcrumb navigation might not fit the smaller screen, causing layout issues. This is where responsive design becomes crucial.

Consider collapsing the breadcrumb navigation into a dropdown menu to optimize it for smaller screens. Users can tap to expand the menu and view the breadcrumb links whenever necessary. You can also try vertical alignment when the space is limited horizontally.

This will arrange the breadcrumb links vertically instead of horizontally, which saves horizontal space and allows them to fit better on narrower screens. If the breadcrumb trail becomes overly complex and lengthy, hide certain links to keep a clean display.

Conclusion

Incorporating breadcrumb navigation into your website can significantly enhance the user experience by providing a clear and straightforward way for users to track their path and navigate to other areas of the site. When implemented effectively, breadcrumbs improve usability and contribute to better SEO, making your website more accessible to both users and search engines.

following best practices like clear labeling, consistent styling, and responsive design ensures that your breadcrumb navigation works seamlessly on all devices. Maintain an intuitive, user-friendly, and well-organized website to enhance navigation and increase overall satisfaction.