Letting people know which site they’re on and where they are on that site is pretty basic usability stuff, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important.

1. Logo and company name in top left corner

Put your logo in the top left corner. If your logo doesn’t contain your company name, put your name directly underneath the logo. Do this on every page. That way, people immediately know whose website they’re on.

Don’t think putting your logo on the right side will make you special. Sure, you’ll be different, but not in a way people appreciate. You’re just making it harder for them to know which website they’re on.

Ogilvy puts its logo in the bottom right corner. Because that’s not where people expect it to be, it will take them longer to see it.

Not mentioning your name or logo at all is of course not the greatest idea either.

Without a logo or name in the top left corner, it’s not easy for visitors to know they’re on the website of the Museum for Industrial Archeology and Textile (MIAT) in Ghent.

2. Breadcrumb

A great way to let users know where they are on your website, is via a breadcrumb. A breadcrumb shows you where you are on a website by visualizing the site’s hierarchy, from the homepage to the current page.

You can find more details on what a good breadcrumb looks like in our article ‘Breadcrumb: 7 tips’.

3. Clearly visible page title

A page title has to stand out. Use a larger font size and perhaps even a different colour than your regular text colour.

Put the page title always in the same, clearly visible place: at the top of the content part of the page, left-aligned.

Use the same term as the one you use in your menu, or at least start the page title in the same way. Inconsistencies can be confusing.

The Belgian province Flemish Brabant puts the page title or header where it should be: at the top left of the page’s content part, in a larger font size and different colour than the regular text.

4. Navigation: active item in a different colour

Navigation plays a very important part in telling people where they are on a website.

An easy way to show users what main and sub-category of the navigation they’re in is putting the active category in a different (background) colour.

On the site of Amnesty International it’s very clear which main and sub-category of the navigation the user is in.

5. Title tag

Another small but not unimportant element that can help users determine where they are on a website is the title tag.

But thanks to our ‘8 tips for the perfect title tag‘ you already know everything about that.

If you take these 7 tips into account, your breadcrumb will be a very practical addition to the navigation.

1. Between page title and top

Put the breadcrumb above the page title, but below the top navigation or graphical top of your website.

2. Start with ‘Home’

Start the breadcrumb with ‘Home’. Breadcrumbs used to start with ‘You are here:’. During user tests we have noticed this is no longer necessary. Even people who have never heard of the word breadcrumb know what it’s for.

3. Left align

Align the breadcrumb to the left. That way, the first part of the breadcrumb (’Home’) is in the top left part of the website, where people expect to find the link to the homepage.

4. Greater-than sign

Use a greater-than sign to separate the crumb trail’s various parts. The greater-than sign is best suited to indicate the hierarchical relationship between the various parts. 

5. Smaller font size

Use a slightly smaller font size for the breadcrumb than you do for the rest of the text on your site. Verdana 8 points is perfect.

6. Clickability

Every part of the crumb trail has to be clickable, except the current page. Obviously, you need to follow the general rules of clickability.

7. No breadcrumb on the homepage

Don’t put a breadcrumb on the homepage. Other elements (colour indication in the navigation, content, lay-out, etc) should make clear that it’s the homepage.