I recently was approached by a business owner who wanted to redesign their website. They had actually done a fine do-it-yourself job up until this point, but were ready to take it to the next level.
One of the things that I noticed in my initial assessment was that the main navigation was handled with javascript.
There are so many javascript libraries on the internet that it is easy to find one that will do neat effects with your menu, but resist the temptation. Here’s why:
When browsing with javascript enabled, the navigation will show up just fine. But many users browse with javascript disabled (for a number of reasons)…and then, there is no navigation (see screenshots).
Most of the cool effects that designers use to rely on javascript for can be achieved with css, and there are lots of websites to help you with out there too.
The lesson learned is that if something doesn’t function, it becomes worthless. When it comes to your website’s navigation, it is pretty important that it functions! If you must use a menu driven by javascript or flash, the very least you should do to satisfy your ‘non-javascript-or-flash-users’ is to provide an alternative text-based menu on your website. Your users will thank you.
This screenshot shows the navigation on the side, because I’m browsing with javascript turned on.
Poof! I disable my javascript and the navigation disappears.