10 Examples Of Great Website Navigation Menus
There are certain websites after visiting which we feel very disoriented. This is because we had to keep scouring the website to find what we were looking for. And there are certain other websites after visiting which we feel extremely glad and wish to make a second visit sooner or later. This is because the websites made the browsing experience effortless with minimal clicks.
When you create a restaurant website, the various elements on the page should work in unison. They should look organized and clutter-free. Visitors should be led through the site with great ease resulting in a positive user-experience.
An element that plays a pivotal role in this regard, greatly determines the user experience and affects navigation on the site, is the MENU.
WHAT IS A WEBSITE MENU?
A website menu is a series of interconnected items that serve to enhance the navigating experience between the various pages and sections of a website. There are various kinds of menus. They differ from each other based on the website content and design.
TYPES OF WEBSITE MENUS:
CLASSIC NAVIGATION MENU: This type of menu is widely used by most restaurants. The icon is placed in the header, as a horizontal list.
STICKY MENU: This is also known as a fixed or floating menu. The menu does not move even if visitors scroll down the website. This fixed menu is ideal for single-page websites that require a lot of scrolling.
HAMBURGER MENU: This type of menu has an icon made up of three horizontal stripes that leads the visitor to the menu when it is clicked. This type of design is most suited for mobile website design, but is also widely used for desktop website designs.
DROPDOWN MENU: This is a menu in which other items open when the visitor clicks on or simply hovers over one of the menu items. For websites with a large amount of content, this is the ideal menu format.
SIDEBAR MENU: A sidebar menu is one where the list of menu items is located either on the left or right side of the webpage.
10 EXAMPLES OF GOOD WEBSITE NAVIGATION MENU
Following is a compilation of 10 great website navigation menus that represent versatility and creativity. These examples excel both in the unique use of website navigation and website design.
Brittney Johnson
The homepage of this online design portfolio is dedicated solely to the menu. This website has an interactive sidebar navigation. The works of Brittney are listed on the left and when the visitor hovers over the name, the images of the same are revealed on the right.
The sidebar helps to transform the website’s navigation into an interactive experience. The minimalist menu in the header leads us to the ‘About’ section when clicked and then, back to the homepage.
Payton Pitts
This is a photography website with a hamburger menu. It has a beautiful handwritten logo and a website color scheme with a subtle tone. The navigation has been made stylish and modern. The hamburger icon has a unique look because of the uneven line lengths. When clicked, the menu expands into a sidebar and fills the left side of the website display with an abstract painting.
Yang’s Place
The website of this Chinese restaurant has its logo appearing on the website header, on the first fold and once again in the full-screen menu. The logo used on the website header stays put even when visitors move on to different pages of the website and leads them back to the homepage with a click. This practice improves user experience.
This navigation has been made accessible both through a hamburger menu and a website homepage that is filled with a geometrical layout of photographs and text bones.
Protea
This restaurant website highlights the freshly prepared cuisines and enticing ambiance. It showcases images of its food and the Napa Valley venue by using large, high-quality images. The navigation becomes less prominent due to this design. The classic menu gets revealed only when the hamburger icon is clicked.
Even when the menu opens, it stays put on the page despite the visitor scrolling down. This gives an effect of a floating menu. There is also a sidebar at the right where visitors get the links to the restaurant’s social media accounts. There is also a prominent CTA button for customers to make advance table reservations.
William LaChance
We can find a classic sidebar menu on the website of this artist. There is also an extra sidebar menu with images and video boxes that show up as one scrolls down the page. The navigation menu uses several website animations with bright colors to catch the attention of the visitor. The sidebar stays fixed on all the inner pages of the website as well.
I Love Dust
The website of this graphic design studio has a full-screen show reel video to highlight their fast-paced working style. The website menu remains static. There are different menu items on each corner of the screen. This website has used the split-up menu, that is currently in trend, by pining elements to the side of the screen.
Mantra
As a website focusing on sports, a dynamic full-screen video opens up as soon as we enter the site. When the hamburger icon is clicked, the screen turns into a bright blue, highlighting just four menu items in bold, white typography. The menu takes over the whole screen and perfectly aligns with the overall design of the website.
Stolen Goods
The website of this online store has beautiful patterns that are screen-printed by hand. The design encompasses large white spaces. The design is clean and provides additional scope for product photography to be showcased.
