Navigation Pattern Encyclopedia — Every Nav Pattern

Mental model

Navigation answers three questions, in this order: where am I, where can I go, and how do I get back. A pattern that answers only the second is a menu, not a navigation system.

• Visible beats hidden. Nielsen Norman's study (179 participants, six sites) found hidden navigation cuts content discoverability by nearly half and raises both time on task and perceived difficulty. Hide navigation only when the screen genuinely cannot hold it.
• Information scent is the whole game. A label must let someone predict what is behind it. "Solutions" has no scent; "Pricing" has perfect scent.
• Depth costs more than breadth. Two levels of fifteen items beat four levels of four. Every extra level is a place to get lost.
• The pattern follows the destination count. Three to five destinations means bottom tabs or a top bar. Twenty-plus means a mega menu or search-first. Fifty means a command palette, because no menu structure survives that.