Header navigation

Header navigation, defined

Header navigation is the main menu at the top of a website. It shows visitors the most important sections and gives search engines a consistent set of links on every page. Its labels, order and structure tell both people and crawlers what the site is mainly about.

An example from a UK business

A vet practice's menu has items called "About", "Info", "Resources" and "More". It renames them "Our vets", "Services and prices", "Pet advice" and "Contact and opening hours". Visitors find what they need faster, and the service pages get clearer internal links.

What to avoid

• Vague labels.
• Mega menus with every page listed.
• Menus that work only with a mouse.
• Leaving key pages out of the mobile menu.

A quick check you can do now

Look at your menu as a new customer. Can you tell where each item leads? Are your most important services one tap away? Test it on mobile and with a keyboard. Check the menu links are standard HTML links rather than script-only buttons, which crawlers may not follow.

What it changes for you

The menu is prime space. Pages linked from it are easy to reach and usually treated as important. Menus that are too vague ("Solutions"), too big or built in ways crawlers can't follow make sites harder to use and understand.

Navigation also shapes how people judge you in the first few seconds. A short, clear menu that uses customers' words tells visitors they're in the right place. It's one of the few changes that helps every single page on the site at once.

Ask a friend to find your prices or contact page on your phone and watch where they tap. It's the quickest usability test there is.

Other on-page terms

• Footer links: Sitewide footer links: useful for users, easy to overdo.
• Site architecture: How pages are organised and linked.
• Internal linking: Links between pages on the same site that help users and distribute crawl paths.