The Web Navigation Bar (aka, the nav & primary menu)
The web navigation bar is a custom-built element on every webpage that contains links to other sections of the website. In most cases, the navigation bar is part of the main website template, which means it is displayed on most, if not all, pages within the website. This means that no matter what page you are viewing, you can see the multiple layers of content that are available to you.
The most common way navigation menus are displayed is usually in a horizontal list located at the very top of the page, containing the brand’s logo. When you visit most sites it is placed at the top of the page and is always placed before the main content, but sometimes placed down near the footer as well. In some cases, it may make sense to place the navigation bar vertically on either side. This type of navbar is called a sidebar and can work for your website depending on the styling and the type of content you have to share.
In more modern websites, some have both a horizontal navigation bar at the top and a vertical navigation bar on the left side. These links can either be exposed and immediately seen on the page or placed as a hamburger menu and shown when the user clicks and make all links visible. With many options to display navbar’s, you may be wondering which way is the best for your site. In this post, we will dive into 5 different ways web navigation is used and how companies are thinking outside the box and still remaining functional.