3 Things to Consider When Selecting Menu Items

Three Menus

We recommend that each site use a main menu, header menu, and footer menu. The main menu is for the most popular parts of your site — places like your online store or services tab that new customers will want to access quickly. Header menus are for important links returning visitors will find handy, like an account login or search feature. Finally, the footer menu is for information that most people don’t look for right away, like privacy policies and other legal pages.

Five Items or Less

We recommend that you limit each of the three menus to five menu items or less. This may sound a bit extreme, but the human eye doesn’t like clutter. A simpler menu will be more visually appealing and make your site easier to use. If you absolutely need more than five menu items, use a dropdown menu. Organize and nest pages in a logical manner to make navigation simple.

Right

Use One Word Menu Items

Whenever possible, use one word menu links. Instead of using “About Us,” use “About.” Instead of “Our Services,” write “Services.” Limiting the length of menu items will make it easier for smartphones to display these links properly. You can still use multiple words for a menu item when necessary, but in most cases, less is more.

By following these guidelines, your menus will be simple and easy to navigate. This makes for a better online experience for your customers, which means more returning visitors and sales. A little menu planning now will go a long way for your website’s future!