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Web Navigation:
Resolving Conflicts between the Desktop and the Web
Browsing
Browsing is when a user clicks on a link to go from one page
of static information on the Web to another. This is what browsers
were designed for. Not surprisingly, this results in the least
number of usability issues.
Orientation
The most common usability problem when browsing is that users
don’t always know where they are or how to get where they
want to go. It is important to consider that the user may have
entered a site via link or a bookmark that isn’t the main
entry point. It is useful to have information about the structure
of the site and the user’s relative location on every page
in a site.
Frames
There are several problems with Web sites that use frames. The
first shows up when users follow a link from a frame to another
page that contains frames. The user can end up with frames inside
of frames inside. This can be very disorienting.
Another problem with frames is that you cannot always precisely
bookmark them or link to them. The issue is that there is currently
no way to reference an anchor inside of a frame inside of a page.
This makes it impossible to cross-reference in a document developed
with frames. Additionally, these documents are difficult to print.
Frames are not inherently bad, but designers must be aware
of their limitations and design carefully around them.
Dynamic HTML and the Page Metaphor
Dynamic HTML, such as Java applets, allows content to be generated
dynamically for a single URL. The problem is that this looks
like a series of Web pages to the user. The user expects to be
able to use the browser navigation controls to navigate through
the content, but cannot. When the user hits the Back button,
the page prior to the one with Java is re-loaded, although the
user might expect to just back up in the Java navigation.
This is an example of where the page metaphor breaks down
because the content imposes a different model of navigation.
Unfortunately, users may not recognize the difference.
Additional Browser Window for Viewing Linked Page
Bringing up additional browser windows for viewing linked pages
can cause confusion for users. Typically, users don’t realize
that a new window has been launched. They only notice that the
back button doesn’t work any more. To avoid this confusion,
carefully consider whether a new window is necessary. Also, ensuring
that the new window is offset from the old one can help users
understand what is going on.
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