Guidelines for Structuring Navigation

Table of Contents

Menu

Link Limits

Character limits

Best use case

Main navigation (header)

Up to 5 links before condensed display 

75 characters total, with spaces (no more than 15 characters per link, about 1-2 words)

3-5 links, 1 or 2 words per link

Footer navigation

Up to 12 links without using section titles

Up to 4 link sections 

Up to 8 links per section 

 

No more than 30 characters per link or section title, with spaces (roughly up to 3 words)

2-3 link sections with no more than 6 links per section 
OR 2-6 links, 0 link sections

  • Don’t repeat links in both the main navigation and the footer. It is sometimes appropriate to surface a high traffic or priority link from sub-navigation by creating a repeat link within the footer.
  • Group similar links with footer headings, where appropriate.
    • About (section title): History, Mission, Leadership, Blog (links)
  • Don’t add social media directly to the text links of your footer. To add social media to the footer, add social media links to the site Primary Contact (see  How to Set a Primary Contact). This will cause them to display in the appropriate section with a logo icon.
  • For agency managers: Be mindful of how many external links you add to the top level of your main navigation. Unless these links are primary in hierarchy, place them below all internal site links.