What is Site Navigation?

The way users move through a site — critical for UX and crawlability.

I know how much effort you put into every piece of content, and the worst thing is when visitors cannot find it.

Poor navigation kills sales and makes Google think your site is a mess, which hurts your rankings a lot.

I will show you simple ways to organize your links, ensuring a great experience for both your users and search engines.

Let us define the term: What is Site Navigation? It is the system of links, menus, and buttons that helps visitors move from one page to another on your website.

Good navigation works like a perfect roadmap, guiding users to exactly what they need in just a few clicks.

For SEO, clear navigation is crucial because it tells search engines which pages are most important and how your content is related.

How I build and change my menu structure often depends on the website platform I am using.

WordPress (WP)

In WordPress, I manage my site navigation easily in the ‘Appearance > Menus’ section, which is very user-friendly.

I make sure to use simple, descriptive anchor text in the menu links because those words are strong SEO signals.

For deep sites, I use plugins for breadcrumb navigation, which gives users a clear path back to the homepage.

Shopify

Shopify makes navigation simple by structuring it around collections, products, and pages.

I focus on creating logical drop-down menus, often called mega menus, to organize my large product catalogs clearly.

It is important that I check the mobile menu constantly because most shoppers use their phones.

Wix

Wix uses a drag-and-drop editor that makes arranging menu items very easy for me.

I make sure my main menu is clean, limiting it to five or six essential links like ‘Services’ or ‘Contact.’

I place my most important pages higher up in the menu order, as this signals their value to Google.

Webflow

With Webflow, I have full control over the design, which means I can create a custom navigation that is very user-friendly.

I use clean, semantic HTML tags for my navigation elements, which is great for accessibility and SEO.

I also ensure that the site’s footer contains links to less visible but still important pages, like the privacy policy.

Custom CMS

When I work with a custom CMS, I have my developers hard-code the navigation to follow a simple, flat structure.

I make sure the code for the menu is light and fast, helping the pages load quickly for better user experience and SEO.

I use internal text links within my page content to support the main menu structure and pass ‘link value’ to my deep pages.

I adjust my navigation style to fit the specific needs of different types of businesses.

Ecommerce

For an online store, my navigation is all about product discovery and easy filtering.

I use mega menus with clear categories and subcategories so shoppers can find an item in two clicks or less.

I implement breadcrumbs like “Home > Shirts > Long-Sleeve” to help both users and search engines understand the product hierarchy.

Local Businesses

A local business needs a simple, action-focused navigation that encourages calls or visits.

I place the ‘Services,’ ‘Pricing,’ and ‘Contact Us’ links prominently in the main header.

I make sure my phone number is clickable and highly visible in the navigation bar on mobile devices.

SaaS (Software as a Service)

SaaS websites need to balance marketing and technical support content in their menu.

I create separate, clear links for ‘Product,’ ‘Pricing,’ and ‘Features’ but also for ‘Documentation’ or ‘Blog.’

I use a contrasting button in the navigation for the main Call-to-Action, like ‘Start Free Trial.’

Blogs

For a blog, I prioritize the ability to browse by topic, author, and date for easy content discovery.

I use a sidebar or secondary menu to link to my most popular content categories and recent posts.

This organized structure helps me keep older, deep articles from becoming “orphaned pages” with no internal links.

I recommend sticking to five to seven main navigation items at the top of the page.

This number is easy for users to process and keeps the authority of your site concentrated on your most important pages.

If your site has a huge inventory, like an ecommerce store, a well-organized mega menu can work well.

For simpler sites, I stick to a basic, one-level menu because it is faster and less confusing for most users.

Yes, the order matters because I know that users often click the first few and the last links the most.

I put my most important pages (like my main service or product page) at the beginning and the final action (like Contact) at the end.

No, “Click Here” is bad for both users and SEO; I avoid it completely.

I use descriptive, keyword-rich text like “Web Design Services” or “Winter Coats” to clearly explain what the page is about.

What is Site Navigation?