Importance of Breadcrumbs in eCommerce Website Design

0
6298

Breadcrumb navigation is one element that is frequently overlooked by website designers. Many people tend to assume that breadcrumb navigation is unnecessary because of the other navigation options available to a website user. While it is true that website users don’t always need breadcrumb navigation in order to get around a website, it’s still a good idea to include it, particularly on eCommerce websites.

 

What is breadcrumb navigation, exactly?

Even if you’ve never heard the term “breadcrumb navigation” before, you’re probably familiar with what it looks like. Many of your favorite eCommerce websites already use it. Breadcrumb navigation simply refers to a series of text links, typically arranged horizontally across the top of a web page, that allow a user to see their current location, in relation to the overall hierarchy of the website.

 

Breadcrumbs in eCommerce websites

The “breadcrumbs” take their name from the tale of Hansel and Gretel, in which two young children leave a trail of breadcrumbs while walking into a forest, so that they could follow the trail of breadcrumbs to get out of the forest and find their way back home. In the same way, breadcrumb navigation in website design is intended to tell website users where they have already been, and make it easy for them to return to a page they had viewed earlier.

 

Why is breadcrumb navigation a good fit for eCommerce website design?

While breadcrumb navigation can enhance the user experience on any website, they are a particularly good fit for eCommerce website design, for a number of reasons. Breadcrumb navigation can help:
• Make browsing easier
• Reduce bounce rates
• Improve the overall user experience

 

Make browsing easier

The first thing that makes breadcrumb navigation a good fit for eCommerce websites is that eCommerce websites typically feature a large amount of different category pages. When an online vendor sells a variety of different products, with different brands, sizes, colors, and varieties of each product, it makes it nearly impossible to browse the overall selection of a website. Finding a product you truly like on a website with no breadcrumb navigation is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Users who can’t browse a website to find products they might be interested will likely purchase smaller orders, as they will be less likely to add on additional products to existing orders. Even worse, users may decide to simply decide to abandon your website altogether, in favor of other websites that make the browsing process easier.

 

Reduce bounce rates

Another unfortunate consequence of a lack of navigation options is a high bounce rate. eCommerce website users “bounce” when they get frustrated with a website experience, and decide to leave the website without completing the transaction they had intended to make on the website. Giving users options to see where they are in the website hierarchy, and return to a higher-level page without having to click the back button several times will make them less likely to give up on their transaction.

 

Improve the overall user experience

This final reason for using breadcrumb navigation may be the most important reason of all: it makes your users’ life easier, and users are more likely to frequent eCommerce websites that are easy to use. Breadcrumb navigation may not always be necessary, but giving users options helps you create a better overall website.
Looking for more eCommerce website design help? Contact the experienced team at Design Spinners to find out what we can do for you.

 

Author Bio

Hello, this is Gerald and i am a professional blogger who loves to write articles about Word Press and Technology. I had love to explore the technology in several ways. I am also well worse in eCommerce website design