Website navigation architectures and their effect on website visibility: a literature survey

  • Authors:

  • Melius Weideman;Mongezi Mgidana

  • Affiliations:

  • Faculty of Business Informatics, Cape Technikon, PO Box 652, Cape Town 8000 South Africa;Faculty of Business Informatics, Cape Technikon, PO Box 652, Cape Town 8000 South Africa

  • Venue:
  • SAICSIT '04 Proceedings of the 2004 annual research conference of the South African institute of computer scientists and information technologists on IT research in developing countries
  • Year:
  • 2004

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Search engines hold a promise of delivering relevant and useful information to the human user. The primary objective of this research project is to compare and report on different types of navigation schemes, their advantages and disadvantages, and the impact they have on the visibility of a webpage to a search engine crawler. The method employed was to review relevant literature, compare the advantages and disadvantages of navigation architectures and to reach a conclusion. It was found that a number of options are offered to the designer of a website, including text-based links, navigation buttons, image maps, JavaScript, Flash elements, hidden menus and frames. All of these elements appeared to have a question mark over their positive contribution to the visibility of a webpage. The primary conclusion reached is that navigation architecture used on a website does impact its visibility to a search engine crawler. The webpage designer should exercise care in choosing a navigation scheme. One option is to duplicate navigation schemes to please both human and crawler visitors, which could add to clutter and information overload. Finally, some areas for further research are identified.