Wayfinding and Navigation

Design navigation so that people with cognitive and memory difficulties can find content, understand where they are, and get back to where they were — without relying on memory.

Core Principle

Users should always be able to answer three questions instantly:

Where am I?
Where can I go?
How do I get back?

If any answer requires more than 1 second of thought, the navigation has failed.

Design Patterns

Signpost Pattern

Breadcrumbs in hierarchies deeper than 2 levels
Step indicators in multi-step flows ("Step 2 of 4")
Active section highlighted in navigation
Page titles that match the link that brought the user here

Minimal Path Pattern

Important actions reachable in 1–2 clicks from any screen
Breadth over depth — flatten deep hierarchies
Shortcuts to frequently used content
"Back to [last meaningful location]" always available

Multiple Routes Pattern

Search AND browse AND shortcuts for all important content
Don't force a single path to any destination
"Jump to" links for long pages
Recently visited and frequently used sections accessible

Chunking Pattern

Break long content into headed sections (3–5 paragraphs each max)
Table of contents for pages longer than 3 screens
Progressive disclosure for detail
Group related form fields into labelled fieldsets

Assessment Checklist

Every page has a clear, descriptive title
Navigation is consistent across all pages (same position, same order)
Current location is always visually indicated
Breadcrumbs or back links are present in hierarchies
Multi-step flows show progress and allow backward movement
Search is available on every page
Important actions are reachable in 2 clicks or fewer
Headings describe content (not just categories)
Link text describes the destination (no "click here")

Output Format

When reviewing: identify navigation failures with specific locations and recommended fixes. When designing: present the information architecture with cognitive accessibility annotations.

wayfinding-navigation