Most sites face complex navigation issues that have to be solved in layers. The overall organization of the site poses different problems than the functionality of an individual site area. So all but the smallest and simplest of sites will grapple with issues of global and local navigation. 3 types of navigation:
global navigation Also called sitewide or persistent navigation, global navigation helps users navigate the site to find the areas of interest to them. So global navigation tends to concern itself with hierarchies of information or broad categories. Global navigation usually appears in the same way and at the same place on every page, listing the same items. Though it should offer some visual clue about which section the user's in. local navigation Once the user arrives at their "destination" within the site, local navigation takes over. It usually tackles the functionality issues in a specific application, the classification issues within a particular topic, or the page-turning functions within an article. Global, local, and network navigation are all used within his page on Webmonkey. (1) The network navigation bar (sometimes called a "branding bar") leads to Webmonkey's corporate parent, Terra-Lycos. (2) The global navigation bar leads back to the Webmonkey front door and offers a pull-down menu of site features (not pictured). Global navigation is also offered through (3) breadcrumbs, which show you where you are on the site. (4) Local navigation to other pages in the article is accomplished through links down the left hand side.
network navigation More political than practical, network navigation brings in a layer of navigation that's often irrelevant to the user but important to the business. Sites that are part of a network or are owned by a corporate parent that controls other sites are often required to link to the other sites. balancing layers of navigationIt can be hard to decide how much navigation should go on any individual page: Too much and you run the risk of obscuring your subject matter by literally squeezing it off the page. Too little and users may lose track of where they are. The balance between global and local navigation is struck differently on different sites. On directories, for example, there's very little local navigation. The rigid global navigation often extends into local areas. Games and art exhibits are at the other end of the spectrum, with almost no global navigation except a button to return to the front door.
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