Principles of Web Design 5 th Edition Chapter Nine Site Navigation

Objectives When you complete this chapter, you will be able to: Create usable navigation Build text-based navigation Use graphics for navigation and linking Use lists for navigation Build horizontal navigation bars Build vertical navigation bars Use background color and graphics to enhance navigation Create hover rollovers 2 Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

Creating Usable Navigation

4 Provide enough location information to let the user answer the following navigation questions: Where am I? Where can I go? How do I get there? How do I get back to where I started?

5 Creating Usable Navigation To answer these questions, provide the following information: Let users know what page they are on and what type of content they are viewing Let users know where they are in relation to the rest of the site

6 Creating Usable Navigation Provide consistent, easy-to-understand links Provide an alternative to the browser’s Back button that lets users return to their starting point Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

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8 Limiting Information Overload Create manageable information segments Control page length Use hypertext to connect facts, relationships, and concepts Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

9 Building Navigation Structures

10 Building Text-Based Navigation Text-based linking is often the most effective way to provide navigation on your site Always provide a text-based set of links as an alternate means of navigation Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

11 Sample Text Navigation –To main pages (Home, Table of Contents, Index) –To the top of each chapter –Within the Table of Contents page to chapter descriptions –From Table of Contents page to specific topics within each chapter The following screens demonstrate a variety of text-based navigation options: Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

12 Sample Text Navigation –Between the previous and next chapter –Within chapter pages to each topic –To related information by using contextual links The following screens demonstrate a variety of text-based navigation options (continued): Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

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14 Linking with a Text Navigation Bar The Table of Contents page must link to the other main pages of the Web site, allowing users to go directly to the pages they want Achieve this by adding a simple text-based navigation bar Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

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16 Linking to Chapter Pages The Table of Contents page needs links to the individual chapter files in the Web site Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

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18 Adding Internal Linking Add a “back to top” link that lets users return to the top of the page Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

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20 Adding an Internal Navigation Bar You can use additional fragment identifiers in the table of contents to add more user-focused navigation choices Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

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22 Linking to External Document Fragments You can let users jump from the table of contents to the exact topic they want within each chapter This requires adding code to both the Table of Contents page and each individual chapter page Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

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24 Adding Page Turners You can enhance the functions of the navigation bar in the chapter pages by adding page-turner links Page turners let you move either to the previous or next page in the collection Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

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27 Adding Contextual Linking Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

28 Adding Contextual Linking Contextual links allow users to jump to related ideas or cross-references by clicking the word or item that interests them These are links that you can embed directly in the flow of your content by choosing the key terms and concepts you anticipate your users will want to follow Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

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30 Using Graphics for Navigation and Linking Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

Using Graphics for Navigation and Linking If you use graphics for navigation, use the same graphics consistently throughout your site These provide predictable navigation cues for the user Reusing graphics minimizes download time Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 31

Using the alt Attribute Provide alternate text-based links in addition to graphical links Include alt attributes in your tags The alt attribute is important to accessibility Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 32

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Using Icons for Navigation Be careful with navigation icons Not everyone agrees on their meaning Many Web sites include descriptive text within navigation icons Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 34

35 Using Lists for Navigation Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed.

Using Lists for Navigation The HTML list elements are the preferred element for containing navigation links Lists provide an easy way to create navigation that can be styled with CSS Home History How it Works Balloon Clubs Festivals Where to Ride FAQ Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 36

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Removing Default Padding and Margin Most lists have built-in padding or margin values When creating navigation lists, you will need to remove this default spacing Set the margin padding properties to zero for the UL element as shown ul#navlist { padding: 0; margin: 0; } Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 38

Removing Default Bullets HTML lists come with built-in bullets When creating lists for navigation, you can remove the default bullets Use the list-style-type property as shown ul#navlist { padding-left: 0; margin-left: 0; list-style-type: none; } Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 39

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Building Horizontal Navigation Bars

Horizontal Navigation In a standard list, each item is on its own line To create a horizontal navigation bar using the list, you need to set the list item display setting to in-line This allows the list to display on one line ul#navlist li{ display: inline; } Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 42

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Customizing the Horizontal Navigation Bar You can customize the basic list navigation with CSS properties For example, you can: –Add borders, background colors, or images –Set space between buttons Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 44

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Controlling Navigation Bar Width Horizontal navigation bars will wrap with the browser To prevent this, set a width for your navigation list ul#navlist { padding: 0; margin: 10px 0px 0px 0px; list-style-type: none; width: 700px; } Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 46

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Controlling Navigation Button Width To create navigation buttons that are all the same width, change the display type to block Float the boxes so they align next to each other Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 48

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Building Vertical Navigation Bars

Use a standard list structure without changing the display type as you did for a horizontal navigation bar The elements in the list must be set to a block display property value Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 51

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Using Background Color and Graphics To Enhance Navigation

You can use background colors and graphics in a variety of ways to enhance your navigation You can indicate location with graphic or background color You can create interactive hovers that change when the user points to a link Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 54

Indicating History Use the link pseudo-classes to show users where they have been You can display a graphic based on the state of the link In this example, the visited state causes a graphic check mark to display Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 55

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Indicating Location Location can be indicated by a change in text weight, text color, or background color or with a graphic Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 57

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Creating Hover Rollovers

Changing Text Color and Background Color on Hover The :hover pseudo-class lets you add interactivity when users scroll over your navigation links In this example, when the user hovers the mouse over the link: –The text color changes to white (#fff) –The background color changes to bright blue (#0033cc) Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 60

ul#navlist a:hover { color: #fff; background-color: #0033cc; font-weight: bold; } Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 61

Changing Background Images on Hover When the user hovers the pointer over a navigation button, the button color changes Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 62

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Underlining on Hover You can use the hover pseudo-class to turn underlining on when the user points to a link a:hover {text-decoration: underline;} Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 64

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Summary Usable navigation is the result of working with the power of hypertext and designing for your users’ needs Work from the user’s point of view Make all areas of your Web site quickly accessible Provide plenty of location cues Use text-based navigation bars Use CSS to build attractive horizontal and vertical navigation bars using simple lists Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 66

Summary Use background colors, text colors, and graphics to enhance navigation Use the :hover pseudo-class to add interactivity Principles of Web Design 5 th Ed. 67