Create navigation for a website
In addition to the content and the visual design, navigation is an important criterion for a successful website. The menu should not be too cluttered, but give the visitor the opportunity to quickly and easy access to certain categories or areas of your website without having to search for them have to. How exactly you design the navigation is of course up to you, although you should pay attention to a few basic aspects.
Pay attention to the menu navigation on a website
The navigation is very important for the user-friendliness and the general appearance of a website and should therefore be designed in the best possible way.
- There are basically two ways of doing this. On the one hand, the navigation can appear in the upper area of the website (in the "header"), on the other hand it would also be one Integration in the left or right area (so-called "sidebar") is conceivable, the left variant being preferred will.
- In the menu in the header area, the individual items are arranged from left to right, with the first entry usually a link to the start page ("Home") and one of the last entries to be something like "Contact" can. This type of navigation has the advantage that it appears clear and is immediately seen by the visitor. However, this option creates problems if many entries are to appear, so either entries would appear over the right margin or a subnavigation would be created got to. This submenu is usually only possible with the help of a dropdown effect, i.e. the display of an extended menu when moving the mouse pointer over it.
- This can then be partially remedied with a side menu, as there is basically a lot of space at the bottom and accordingly there is enough space for the main entries. In addition, sub-items can be integrated without any problems, so that clarity and user-friendly navigation are guaranteed. The arrangement is logically from top to bottom, so the first point could be, for example, "Start page" or "Contact" is the last item.
- Of course, you also have the option of combining both options. For example, you could use the upper area as the main navigation, i.e. only link the main categories, and Use the side area as a submenu, in which only the individual areas of the respective category are displayed will.
If you program with PHP on your website and use an MP3 player ...
Implementation of a navigation
If you program or use navigation for your website you also basically have two options to choose from.
- On the one hand, you could write the required source code yourself, which has the advantage that you can precisely influence the layout and make subsequent changes easily. The easiest way to do this is to use a count where you can hide the bullet points and, for example, create a hover effect, i.e. a different background when you run over it with the mouse display.
- On the other hand, you also have the option of using a ready-made script. These scripts are mostly based on JavaScript technology or only on CSS and have the advantage that you can quickly integrate them into your website. The design can usually be revised relatively easily, so that you can adapt the color of the external script to your website. You can find free instructions or scripts at, for example SELFTHTML or javarea.
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