Website navigation tools: a decade of design trends 2002 to 2011

The World Wide Web Consortium describes the Web as 'the universe of network-accessible information, the embodiment of human knowledge' (W3C, 2011). This vision of the Web is contingent on the ability of users to freely access and contribute to the overall system. The freedom of the Web threatens its own future due to the possibility of users being disoriented and cognitively fatigued when trying to locate desired information. Appropriate support for navigation is required if the Web is to achieve its vision. One challenge confronting website designers is to provide effective navigational support at the local level. Supplemental navigation tools such as search, sitemap and index tools are frequently included on websites to support navigation. However, there is a lack of detailed guidelines for design of such tools. Instead changes in design appear to be by natural evolution with a 'survival of the fittest' approach. This paper reports on a longitudinal survey of design of website navigation tools within commercial websites over the past decade. The survey exposes several trends in design practice, particularly in recent years. The intention of this survey is to provide a sounder basis for future research and development of website navigation tools by clarifying existing research and identifying important issues for future investigation.