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Navigation

E-commerce strategy1/5/2026Basic Level

Navigation in e-commerce refers to the system that guides users through a website or app, helping them find products and information efficiently. It directly impacts user experience and conversion rates.

What is Navigation? (Definition)

Navigation is the system of menus and links that helps customers find products or information on a webshop. It acts as a map for the site. Common navigation elements include: * Main menus and sub-menus * Search bars * Product filters * Breadcrumbs * Internal links and page numbers Good navigation is simple and logical. It helps shoppers find what they need with very few clicks. WISEPIM supports this by organizing product data so these menus and filters always work correctly.

Why Navigation is Important for E-commerce

Navigation is the organizational structure that helps users move through an online store. It is the main tool customers use to find products. If a site is hard to browse, shoppers get frustrated and leave. This leads to high bounce rates and fewer sales. Clear menus make shopping easy and keep visitors on the site longer. They help shoppers move quickly from looking at items to completing a purchase.

Examples of Navigation

  • 1A clothing store uses a main menu to group products into categories like Men, Women, and Kids.
  • 2Faceted navigation uses data from a PIM like WISEPIM to let shoppers filter by brand or price.
  • 3A grocery store provides a search bar where customers can type "organic milk" to find that item instantly.
  • 4Breadcrumbs show the path a user took to reach a page, such as "Home > Electronics > Televisions."
  • 5A product page lists related items at the bottom to suggest matching accessories or similar goods.

How WISEPIM Helps

  • WISEPIM stores all product details in one central location. This ensures that filters and menus work correctly on every sales platform. Customers get the same accurate experience everywhere.
  • Detailed product data helps customers find items quickly. WISEPIM manages the descriptions and tags that power your search bar. Shoppers can use these details to filter results and find exactly what they need.
  • WISEPIM helps you organize products into clear categories and subcategories. You can easily arrange these groups to build a website menu that is easy to follow. This helps shoppers understand where to click.
  • WISEPIM keeps your navigation data uniform across webshops, mobile apps, and marketplaces. When you update a category, the change appears on every platform. This prevents confusion for customers who use more than one channel.

Common Mistakes with Navigation

  • Adding too many options to a menu. This overwhelms visitors and makes it harder for them to make a choice.
  • Moving menus or search bars to different spots on each page. Users expect these tools to stay in the same place so they can find them quickly.
  • Using a search tool that is slow or shows unrelated items. A search bar should help users by suggesting products as they type.
  • Forgetting to include filters like size, price, or brand. Filters help customers narrow down their choices so they do not have to scroll through hundreds of items.
  • Hiding important categories deep inside the website. If a product takes too many clicks to find, most customers will stop looking.

Tips for Navigation

  • Test your navigation with real customers regularly. This helps you find where users get stuck and shows you what to improve.
  • Use simple and common words for all menu items and filters. Avoid using technical jargon or internal names that might confuse your shoppers.
  • Add detailed filters to help shoppers narrow down their search. Let them sort products by size, color, brand, and price to find what they need quickly.
  • Build your navigation for mobile phones first. Ensure menus are easy to tap and look great on small screens.
  • Use breadcrumbs to show users their current path on your website. These links make it easy for them to click back to a main category at any time.

Trends Surrounding Navigation

  • AI-powered personalization: Navigation adapts dynamically based on individual user behavior, purchase history, and real-time preferences.
  • Voice search optimization: Websites are increasingly optimized for natural language queries, requiring navigation structures that support conversational search.
  • Headless commerce flexibility: Decoupled frontends enable highly customized and agile navigation experiences, tailored across various touchpoints and devices.
  • Augmented Reality (AR) integration: AR features guide users through virtual product environments or assist with in-store navigation via mobile devices.
  • Sustainable filtering options: Navigation includes prominent filters for eco-friendly, fair trade, locally sourced, or circular economy products to meet growing consumer demand.

Tools for Navigation

  • WISEPIM: Centralizes and enriches product data, ensuring consistent and accurate attributes for effective faceted navigation and search filtering.
  • Shopify / Magento: E-commerce platforms offering built-in navigation management tools and extensive app marketplaces for advanced filtering and search extensions.
  • Contentful / Sanity.io: Headless CMS platforms that provide flexibility to structure content and navigation independently, supporting custom frontend experiences.
  • Google Analytics / Hotjar: Analytics tools to monitor user behavior, identify navigation drop-off points, and gather heatmaps or session recordings for optimization.
  • Algolia / Elasticsearch: Advanced search and discovery platforms that power intelligent site search, dynamic filtering, and personalized navigation experiences.

Related Terms

product taxonomyfaceted searchproduct discoveryproduct catalogdigital catalogdigital shelfattribute setsales channel

Also Known As

Website navigationUser guidanceSite structureInformation architecture