Site Navigation

Although issues of site navigation tend to fall more in the "usability" category than the "accessibility" category, the two issues are closely related, and, perhaps, inseparable. Sites that are difficult to navigate may not be inaccessible in the strictest sense, but the user may become so frustrated that she gives up on the site and moves on to another. To people with cognitive difficulties, such a site may indeed be inaccessible. In the case of individuals who are blind, visual site navigation cues are worthless, so alternatives must be provided. In the end, well-designed site navigation schemes are both more usable and more accessible.

Site Indexes and Site Searches

Providing a site index and/or site search feature is one of the most important ways of providing site navigation assistance to the user. Provide as many ways of finding the information as possible. A topical index (a list of links organized by topic or category) and/or a alphabetical index represent the most basic types of site indices. Probably every site of more than a few pages ought to have a site index of some sort. The limitation inherent in topical and alphabetical indices is that the names of the links and topics represent the site developer's perspective. Someone looking for "Toyota repair," for example, may or may not think to look under the "automotive" section of an alphabetical index.

Site searches provide a way for the user to search according to her own way of thinking. If possible, provide both a simple search and a more advanced search feature, to accommodate different types of users. High quality search programs can find words within pages, and possibly even derivations of words (e.g. walk, walking, walked, etc.).

Visual Cues

For visual users, one of the most important things you can do is provide a visual cue as to the user's location within a site. One common method of doing this is to create a tabbed interface, which resembles the tabs on a file folder. When a person clicks on one of the tabs, this tab comes to the foreground, and the others recede, letting the user know that she has entered this area of the site. WebAIM currently uses this method. Another method is to either highlight the appropriate text in the page's menu or change the background color so that the text stands out. Any method that immediately lets the user figure out where she is within the site can be effective. It is common for all of the text in the navigational menu system to be linked to the appropriate destination except for the text which represents the current location. It can be confusing if the current location is linked, because clicking on the link has the effect of merely refreshing the same page.

Non-visual alternatives. With any visual system, a non-visual alternative should be provided. On method which is useful to both visual and non-visual users is often referred to as the "bread crumbs" method. This method involves typing out the current location of a page. For example, the following bread crumbs could represent a page on the Web site of a computer manufacturing company:

Home > Products > Computers > Laptops

It is probably best to make all of the words link back to their respective area, except for the last piece of text, which represents the page that the user is currently on. Bread crumbs allow for navigation (by clicking on the text), visual orientation (the user can see where she is within the site) and non-visual access (the text is accessible to screen readers, and quite easy to interpret by the user).

Creating "invisible" information just for screen readers. Sometimes the visual layout of a page does not offer enough information to users of screen readers. The designer may not want to alter the site's visual appeal to add some of the helpful features for users of screen readers. In this case, one technique which can be used (although it is shunned by purists) is to create a very small transparent GIF image and give it an alt tag that provides additional information to users of screen readers. The alt tag might say "you are in the computer products section, on the laptops page." Be careful when using this technique. When you update your site you may forget to update the invisible information. Also, it is important not to abuse this technique by using it as an excuse not to make the rest of the page accessible.

Check your work. When implementing any site navigation solution, be sure to check your work to make sure that it makes sense to those who did not create the pages. User testing, even if informal ,can be extremely valuable. If possible, listen to your pages in a screen reader (you can download free trial versions), or view your page in a text only browser such as Lynx. An online Lynx emulator is also available. You can also just turn off the colors and images in your favorite browser to achieve a similar effect.

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