Enhance Visitor Experience with Clever Use of Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumb navigation can help you to enhance visitor experience and reduce bounce rate. Additionally, it can improve SEO rankings of a site.

Enhance Visitor Experience with Clever Use of Breadcrumb Navigation in Website Design

Breadcrumb navigation is usually an ignored tool in website designing. Many people feel that it is unnecessary, while others believe that it requires great effort. However, fact is that breadcrumb navigation can greatly improve usability of a site. Furthermore, it simplifies the navigation process.

What exactly is a breadcrumb?

Breadcrumb can be defined as a visual navigation method that informs users about their location within the website. The term ‘breadcrumb’ was picked from the famous Hansel and Gretel fairytale, where two kids placed breadcrumbs for keeping track of their way back to home. Similar to the fairytale, in website, visitors can utilize breadcrumbs for finding their way back to the source.

Benefits of using breadcrumbs

• Improves user experience

The main advantage of using breadcrumbs is that it enhances user experience. It guides the user, as he/she explores various pages. With the help of breadcrumbs, visitors can understand their exact location and therefore, take actions accordingly.

• Requires less effort, on part of users

Visitors usually click at the back button of the website for going back to the previous pages. Let us assume that a user is viewing fourth page of a site. Now, he wants to go back to the first page. If he has to use the back option for landing at the main page, he will have to click the button at least thrice. This involves wastage of time.

If you use breadcrumbs, on the other hand, the user can directly click at the desired page. This in turn, saves time and energy.

• Do not take up excessive space

Breadcrumbs are usually horizontally oriented and do not take up excessive space. Therefore, you can incorporate them in your site, without worrying about your webpage space. They are visually appealing as well.

• Reduces bounce rates

Another major benefit of breadcrumb navigation is that it lowers bounce rate. Primary navigation tools may not entice a first-time visitor to explore various web pages because he/she needs to invest more time. If you use breadcrumbs, on the other hand, the user can directly observe his/her target pages and click accordingly. This in turn, will reduce the overall bounce rate.

Disadvantages of using breadcrumbs

• Increases confusion

Many people think that breadcrumbs can confuse the visitor even more. This is especially true for websites that contain powerful primary navigation tools. Many believe that using breadcrumbs for these websites involves wastage of time and energy.

• Hides information

If you use breadcrumbs as the exclusive source of navigation, chances are high that it will result in information hiding. Breadcrumbs simplify the process of navigating from one page to the other. They can never expose visitors to all the content available in the site. You need to use menus for that!

• The relationship between breadcrumbs and SEO

Many people are unaware of the fact that breadcrumbs can help you to improve SEO rankings of a site. Yes, this is true. With the help of breadcrumbs, you can place targeted keywords within a site. However, avoid using excessive keywords. Additionally, do not sacrifice usability, for the sake of placing keywords.

Breadcrumbs can be a valuable tool for enhancing user experience. However, you need to use them rightly for maximizing user satisfaction.

Post by techniqe.com