Navigation Solutions for Improved User Experience

Your nav menu is creating "choice overload." Here's why 84% of users abandon sites with this one mistake. Most enterprise sites have way too many navigation options. The human brain can only process about 7 items at once. After that, we stop reading and start scanning. And when visitors scan, they miss what they need. A fascinating psychology principle called the "serial positioning effect" explains why: ↳ We remember what's first and last in a list, but struggle with everything in between. One of our clients at The Good had a "Shop" dropdown with dozens of options. Their primary product (responsible for 90% of sales) was buried in the middle. We restructured the navigation to surface core products first and last. Result? ~$1.4 million in additional annual revenue. Here's what you can do, today: ↳ Limit top-level navigation to 7 items maximum ↳ Put your most important items first and last ↳ Structure navigation around customer goals, not internal departments ↳ Test, measure, repeat When visitors can quickly find what they need, they buy more. Go figure 😅

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗯 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁: 𝗔𝗻 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝗜/𝗨𝗫 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 Here’s a little UX anecdote to chew on: Back in the early 2000s, a major e-commerce website noticed something strange. Customers were abandoning their carts midway, not because of pricing or product issues but because they couldn’t remember how they got there. The solution? Breadcrumb navigation. A simple trail showing users their path—like “Home > Electronics > Smartphones > Accessories”—reduced drop-offs by 15%. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆? In the rush to design sleek, minimalist interfaces, many designers overlook breadcrumbs. But here’s the thing: breadcrumbs aren’t just for large websites. They’re essential for any interface where users move through multiple levels of content or steps. 🔑 The overlooked power of breadcrumbs: 1️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁: They give users a sense of place, reducing cognitive load. 2️⃣ 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲: Users can jump back without hunting for the menu, improving navigation. 3️⃣ 𝗦𝗘𝗢 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁: On websites, they improve crawlability and search rankings. 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗽: Design breadcrumbs that are clean and clickable. For mobile, consider collapsible breadcrumbs to save screen space while retaining functionality. Remember, even the most experienced designers sometimes undervalue simple tools. But in UX, it’s often the simplest solutions that create the biggest impact. 💬 Have you used breadcrumbs in a unique way recently? Or maybe you’ve encountered a design where they saved the day? Share your thoughts below! 🖍✨ #UXDesign #BreadcrumbNavigation #UIUXTips #WebDesign #UserExperience #MinimalistUI #NavigationDesign #CognitiveLoad #SEOBoost #UXStrategy #DesignInnovation #UserJourney #UXInspiration #WebsiteDesign #DesignForMobile #EcommerceDesign

Poor navigation will KILL your conversions. We revamped a client’s menu, resulting in a 46% jump in purchases from users who engaged with it. Here’s what we did: The Challenge: 🚩 The original menu listed 30+ options under “Shop.” 🚩 Users couldn’t access products directly; everyone was routed through collection pages. What We Found: 🔎 Users bypassing collections converted at 7.2%. 🔎 Users going through collections converted at just 3.6%. Our Solution: 💡 Reduced the menu to four main categories plus a “Sale” section. The Results: 📈 Product views went up by 17%, with an 18.5% boost for mobile users. 📈 Click-to-view rate increased by 65%. 📈 Click-to-purchase rate rose by 46%. 📈 Adding “Shop by Category” led to double-digit product view growth. Not bad for a simple tweak. P.S. Our research shows 1 in 4 sessions include menu interaction. You wouldn’t block 25% of customers in a physical store—so don’t do it online.

As of October 1 our client will have doubled their MoM revenue for the past 6 months by changing their navigation. It was a simple, not easy change that took a lot of convincing. Here are a few of the big learnings we took from it: Learning 1: Clear is always more important than clever. This company had their branding dialed in and as such, used a lot of "if you know, you know" naming conventions. That can be great in an ad or on merch, but is alienating for new entrants to your brand. Particularly in navigation where they don't even know what you offer yet. Using clear naming convention in navigation makes it 2x easier to shop. Learning 2: Decision fatigue is real. A lot of brands make the mistake of thinking that they will look more legitimate if they have mega menus in their navigation. That's not accurate. Those only really necessary if you're a department store with a million skus and clearly defined departments. If you are a single department brand or have fewer than 1000 UPCs you likely only have a few categories you're selling in. Keep it simple so that that customer sees themselves and specifically the solution they are looking to you for, when they get there. Recap: -Make sure your navigation is clear and easy to understand and not heavily branded. Helping new entrants to your brand, find what they need. -Reduce decision fatigue in the navigation, less is more. Making websites more efficient (but still beautiful!) is an ever-evolving art, if you have a favorite fix, I'd love to hear it! #customercentricity #profitablegrowth #digitalstrategy #seo