Practical eCommerce

tcraw1010

I wanted to get opinions on the issue of navigation menus. Obviously, everyone is different and will be drawn to something different than the next person, but I figure getting different opinions can help with various design issues when it comes to navigation menus.

To start off the discussion, what do you think of the following two top/horizontal navigation systems . . .

http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/

vs.

http://www.easternleaf.com/

TOM

Euan · **Date:** Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:35 pm **Subject:**

More often than not, I prefer the menu down the side. However, in the two examples you listed I like both designs.

The sub-categories appear down the side. I think in this instance they work (I prefer the 2nd one more seems less cluttered).

However, in some scenarios I think a hovering sub-category system works well. I say this as that is what I am currently working on for my site.

However, every site is different Very Happy

bgetting · **Date:** Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:07 pm **Subject:** Coding is Everything

The most important aspect to any navigation is that you can pull it off in a way that allows it to be very search engine friendly. Other than that it comes down to visual appeal.

I tend to do side menus for professional-looking sites, such as news sites, this site, and other sites that are designed to deliver content to visitors (versus making a sale). When it comes to visual pizazz, I would probably go with a more graphicl horizontal menu on the top.

It all comes down to how all the design elements on your page work with each other, however.

erichar11 · **Date:** Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:37 pm **Subject:**

I think it depends on the type of site (business vs. retail). For retail sites, I tend to prefer a really eye catching horizontal nav on the home page. For me, it just opens up the page to tell users what your site is really about. However, on the internal pages, I would use both horizontal and vertical navs. Thus, the vertical nav becomes very important at this point because it better allows a potential customer to find exactly what their looking for(search, subcatagories, etc)

That being said, it really must be incorporated into the design of the whole site. There's no right or wrong here, just easy navigation to ultimately get the customer to where they want to go.

Oh, and don't forget as Brian mentioned, the SEO aspects of designing your navigation. Make sure the every page has a unique title, brand your domain name in the title; either first or last (I prefer last), incorporate keywords as best as you can, and if possible, repeat your title tag in the page header(H1 tag) if you have one.
Eric

Volusion · **Date:** Fri Aug 17, 2007 8:39 am **Subject:**

I like your navigation. It is attractive and well thought out. The top section contains the products and the lower nav bar has information to help the customer in their decision. Perhaps a "Home" button would help as well. It's surprising how many people can't figure that out.

Get Elastic · **Date:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:11 pm **Subject:**

I like the design of the coffee one because the home page is different than content pages, and the graphics along the top navigation are cool.

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