Why should I have a quality navigation menu?
Having a quality navigation menu is one of the most important parts of your website. It helps a user understand the relationships between individual pages on your website and matters a lot to visitors. Why? Because it allows them to quickly and easily find the information they need. The easier they can find the information they are wanting, the more likely they are to take action on your site.
To help you get started, we recommend keeping your main menu navigation simple in order to avoid wrapping your main menu. Large menus can overwhelm small screens and become confusing to navigate.
We've included more information on suggestions on how to build out a quality main navigation structure based on your target audience.
Prospective students
Prospective students (and their families) are looking for a variety of content on university websites. They are primarily concerned with areas of study, cost and aid, admission next steps, housing options (if available), and contact information.
Prospective students
Navigation menu information for the prospective student audience
Areas of Study
Focus groups and visitor data have strongly suggested that the first questions students seek to answer when considering a college is, “Do they have my major?” This section serves to immediately address this question.
Submenus in this section could include: Undergraduate Programs, Graduate Programs, Doctoral Programs, Professional Programs, Distance and Online and Areas of Leadership.
Admissions
"Admissions” is an industry-standard substitute term for “how to apply." Prospective students recognize this as the place to find program requirements, find the next steps and start their application. This section puts your ideal conversion goal in a central place (in addition to prominent calls-to-action links).
About
This section captures key rankings, distinctions, and other unit-level messaging that may not be reflected in other content. Longer-form background about your unit that may not serve program-focused pages can be a strong fit for sections like these. Visitors are accustomed to scanning “About” sections of sites for broader information.
Submenus in this section could include: History, Rankings and Colleges.
Research
This page presents an opportunity to highlight key academic research highlights and institutes. Content will be most effective when appealing to prospective students, framing research as a valuable part of the academic experience at Iowa.
People
This section provides prospective students (and all audiences) with a list of relevant contacts and bios. This doesn’t play a large role in student recruitment, which is why it’s placed deeper in the menu structure.
Submenus in this section could include: Faculty and Staff.
News
This is an optional opportunity to feature a unit-specific blog or other news content, or serve a link to content hosted on other sites.
Sample menu for the prospective student audience
We've included an example of how this would look within SiteNow v3 below.
Alumni, friends and prospective donors
Alumni, friends and prospective donors have different areas of interest on your site. They are primarily concerned with connections to the Iowa community through publications, events and groups. They also have an interest in finding opportunities to support the institution and want to know the impact of donations and giving.
Navigation menus
Navigation menu information for the alumni, friends and prospective donors audience
Support
The primary goal of engagement with alumni is to drive giving and other forms of support, but the audience is seeking connection to the Hawkeye community. This section is meant to highlight those paths to supporting Iowa, demonstrate the impact of alumni donors, and help visitors feel like vital supporters of the University of Iowa’s mission (as they are).
Submenus in this section could include: Giving, Volunteer, Campaigns and Impact.
Publications
One of the most common ways that alumni stay connected with their alma mater is through engagement with alumni-focused publications. This section gathers those resources into one menu, allowing them to easily find all existing resources published by your unit.
Community
This section gathers all of the local and virtual resources (local organization chapters, social media accounts, Hawkeye fan venues, etc.) visitors can use to stay connected the Hawkeye community in one place.
Submenus in this section could include: Alumni organizations, Network, Social media and Hawkeye fan events.
About
This section could feature a list of key leadership/faculty/staff, mission-oriented storytelling, and detailed reports that may have been referenced in “Impact” section above.
Submenus in this section could include: People and Reports.
News
This is an optional opportunity to highlight major milestones, impact of giving and other news items or reference relevant content hosted on other Iowa content sites.
Sample menu for the alumni, friends and prospective donors audience
We've included an example of how this would look within SiteNow v3 below.
Prospective faculty and staff
Prospective faculty and staff are primarily concerned with areas of content that are related to job opportunities, UI culture and resources, funding and support for research.
Prospective faculty and staff
Navigation menu information for prospective faculty and staff
About
Surveys of faculty at other institutions suggest that their top priorities in choosing a place of work are “opportunities to work with leading peers” and “a culture that supports research”. This menu is focused accordingly, beginning with an opportunity to highlight notable accomplishments through on-page content, provide background into your unit’s work, and feature the faculty members that led those achievements.
Submenus in this section could include: People or Achievements.
Research
This section elaborates on the previous one, specifically featuring the areas of research encompassed by your unit. This creates a direct opportunity for recruitment, leading visitors directly from an interest in your areas of inquiry toward what opportunities may be available in those areas.
Submenus in this section could include: Key Areas, Facilities, Career and Opportunities.
Support
This can serve two functions: A) Provide a contact point/guidance for those seeking to support your unit and B) illustrate the sources of funding for prospective faculty or partners. Doing both together can help recruitment prospects feel as if their work will be supported, but also that your unit still actively pursues further support.
Submenus in this section could include: Funding and Donations.
News
Optional opportunity to feature research highlights, a unit-level blog or other content hosted on Iowa content sites.
Sample menu for the prospective faculty and staff audience
We've included an example of how this would look within SiteNow v3 below.
Current students, faculty and staff
Current students, faculty and staff have an area of interest that relates to the current experience studying or working at Iowa. Many sites and applications at Iowa serve an internal audience. Each of these groups has their own distinct interests on what they are looking for on a site.
Current students
Navigation menu information for the current student audience
Instead of consulting a uniform template, units that fit this framework are encouraged to consider the following questions when developing content for their sites:
- What is/are the key reason(s) for someone to visit our site?
- What content, functions and other resources best help them achieve their goals?
- How can we provide the most streamlined, clear path to that core content for visitors?
- How can we learn from our audience and refine content according to their needs?