Supplemental navigation tools for website navigation: a comparison of user expectations and current practice

One of the challenges confronting website designers is to provide effective navigational support. Supplemental navigation tools such as search, indexes and sitemaps are frequently included on websites. However, due to a lack of guidance for designers a proliferation of designs has evolved leaving users confused about the role and value of each particular tool. This paper reports an empirical investigation into the expectations of users regarding the purpose and design of supplemental navigation tools. Expectations are then compared with a survey of the current utilization of these tools in major commercial websites. The study establishes a relationship between certain types of information goals and the selection of search and sitemap tools