Jared said, > The Big Assertion: Users are looking for something specific on the site.
>If the user is on the page that has their specific target, then they > don't need *any* navigation (either local or global). > If the page they're on doesn't have the target content, then they need > to find scent (a link with good trigger words) to that content. > If good, clear local navigation gets them to target content, then they > don't need any global navigation. Yes, this makes sense. And as a philosophy it provides good incentive to anticipate what they users could possibly be looking for, so the designer can provide those options locally. However, often there are just too many things the user might want to do, and in my experience it's usually not possible to anticipate them all. The designer could set a target of attempting to satisfy x% of the navigation needs with local nav (x = 90%? 95% 99%). But for those fringe needs, the global nav does provide the backbone to enable the user to explore with confidence. Exploring with confidence also offers the advantage of serving up options that were not originally considered or "needed" by the user, but may offer opportunities for value exchange. So the global nav may help squeeze a little extra value out of the site, for those users so motivated. > I don't know how you measured that "users appreciated gaining a sense > of the scope from the global navigation" Users viewed various home-page design styles, one of which provided a structured overview of the web site 3 levels deep. Users consistently chose this home-page design style over traditional styles (e.g., big hero image, a few key links, main nav). Sure, there's the local-nav argument: they could drive right where they needed. But their comments were consistent and revealing. They pointed to the fact that seeing the full breadth of the scope, structured in a way that made sense to them, gave them confidence that the site had what they needed, and was comprehensive. Subjective ratings of "trust" were highest for this design style, as were reports of the probability that they would return. Paul Eisen Principal User Experience Architect tandemseven ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
