Navigation

Definition

Navigation in an e-commerce context encompasses all elements and structures designed to help users find products, categories, and information on an online store. This includes main menus, sub-menus, search bars, filters (faceted navigation), breadcrumbs, internal links, and pagination. Effective navigation is intuitive, logical, and minimizes the effort required for a user to reach their desired destination.

Why It's Important for E-commerce

Effective navigation is fundamental to the success of any e-commerce business. Poor navigation leads to frustration, high bounce rates, and lost sales, as customers cannot find what they are looking for. Conversely, clear and logical navigation enhances the user experience, encouraging longer site visits, deeper engagement, and higher conversion rates. It guides customers through the sales funnel, from discovery to purchase.

Examples

• A clothing webshop's main menu with categories like 'Men,' 'Women,' 'Kids,' 'Sale,' and 'Brands.'
• Faceted navigation on an electronics site allowing users to filter by 'Brand,' 'Price Range,' 'Screen Size,' and 'Customer Rating.'
• A prominent search bar on a supermarket's online store, enabling quick searches for specific products like 'organic milk' or 'gluten-free bread.'
• Breadcrumbs showing the user's path: Home > Electronics > Televisions > OLED TVs.
• Related product suggestions at the bottom of a product page, linking to complementary items.

How WISEPIM Helps

• Consistent Product Data: WISEPIM centralizes and standardizes all product attributes and categories, ensuring that navigation elements like filters and facets are consistent and accurate across all channels.
• Enhanced Product Discovery: By providing rich, complete, and accurate product information, WISEPIM enables more effective search functions and detailed filtering options, making products easier to find.
• Simplified Taxonomy Management: WISEPIM allows for intuitive management of product categories and subcategories, directly supporting the creation of logical and user-friendly navigation structures.
• Multi-channel Data Consistency: Ensure that product data powering navigation is uniform across your e-commerce site, mobile app, and marketplaces, providing a consistent user experience regardless of the channel.

Related Terms

Also Known As