A navigation checklist for website templates
Compare website navigation with real visitor tasks, clear destination labels, keyboard access, mobile menus, and useful return paths.
On this page
Compare a template's navigation by completing a visitor task. Start from an internal page as well as the homepage. A menu can look complete while its labels or return paths leave the visitor uncertain.
This guide covers public website navigation. Account areas with permissions need additional access checks for each destination.
Write three visitor questions
Use questions that your content can answer. A service website might need “What do you provide?”, “Where do you work?”, and “How can I contact you?” Replace those examples with your actual visitor needs.
Match each question to a destination. Write the shortest useful path from a likely entry page. Include a page reached from search, because visitors do not always enter through the homepage.
Keep the task record beside each candidate. It gives you the same comparison across different visual styles.
Give each navigation area one purpose
The primary menu identifies the main website areas. Local navigation helps within a larger area. An article contents list points to sections of the current document.
Do not repeat every destination in every area. Use the footer for useful supporting destinations such as contact, policies, and related resources. Keep important task links available where visitors need them.
The W3C menu structure tutorial describes navigation structure and labeling. Use that guidance when you inspect the underlying HTML as well as the visible menu.
For a documentation site, read the separate documentation navigation article. Its reader tasks differ from those of a small public service website.
Check labels against their destinations
Read each label without opening the page. State what you expect to find. Then open the destination and compare it with that expectation.
Use specific labels when the distinction matters. “Services” can identify an overview. A specific service name can identify its detail page. A vague label such as “Discover” needs enough surrounding context to explain its destination.
Keep one label for one destination across the site. A destination named “Contact” in the header should not become “Connect” in the footer without a clear reason.
Check links inside cards and article text. Those links also form part of the visitor's path. Google's crawlable link guidance explains the importance of destination links and descriptive text for discovery.
Follow the path with a keyboard
Use the keyboard to reach the menu and its destinations. Confirm that focus remains visible. Open any disclosure control, select a destination, and return.
A control that opens a menu has a different job from a link that opens a page. Inspect each action. Do not assume that a familiar arrow symbol explains both behaviors.
Record whether the visitor can close an open menu and continue through the page. Use the accessibility checklist for the wider initial review.
Use the mobile menu as part of a task
Open the menu on a real phone. Find the required page, follow its action, and return to the previous area. Check the menu when a long label or another language changes its length.
Confirm that the current page remains understandable after the menu closes. A page title and useful path context can help. Do not rely on a hidden menu's active color as the only indication of location.
Use the mobile template checklist for the other phone checks.
Record the result instead of a menu score
| Starting point | Task | Evidence to record |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | Find the main service or product | Labels used and destination reached |
| Internal article | Reach the relevant contact action | Complete path without returning home |
| Detail page | Return to the containing category | Useful return destination |
| Phone | Open the menu and choose a page | Task outcome and any blocked control |
| Keyboard | Open and close a disclosure | Focus position and action outcome |
These rows define a review. They do not report a tested template or assign a rating.
Choose the smallest complete structure
Add a navigation group only when the content needs it. An empty category or a deep chain of menus adds work without providing an answer.
Keep the labels and destinations in the content plan. Review the task paths when a page moves or a new area appears.
Browse the template directory with those paths ready. Select the structure that supports them with clear, manageable changes.
