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Ideally, you want to include no more than 7 links within your primary navigation menu, where 4-5 is preferable. We have also touched on this topic in previous blog posts – How to introduce yourself on your website.
What is primary navigation? Primary navigation is the principal navigation interface on a website. It links to the most important website pages and appears prominently at the top of the homepage and other pages.
What should the primary navigation items be on a website?
When only some of the primary navigation items are links, people will try to click on non-links, feel confused and frustrated when no page loads. The visual design should also clearly indicate whether the primary navigation items are links or are only headers – if they’re not links, use a different font style or color.
When you add navigation links, you give visitors the chance to get distracted and leave the page before converting. Navigation links on homepages are a logical decision, it makes sense to provide your visitors with a roadmap because they have multiple pages to go through and multiple offers to view.
On the homepage, navigation links help visitors move around the website, moving from one page to the other, as they gather more information. On landing pages, however, navigation links just serve as exit links that take the visitor off the page.
How to list navigation controls in a website?
On a piece of paper, list all the primary navigation controls. Don’t worry about where they will go on the screen, or other such details; simply list each page that you will be able to directly reach from most pages using the primary controls. An example list like this might be: