Top 10 Cool Website Navigation Bar Examples to Increase User Experience

Almost everyone hates a confusing website. Did you know that nearly 90% of people might leave your site if it's hard to navigate? That's a lot of missed opportunities!

The good news is a well-designed navigation bar can fix this problem. It's like a roadmap for your visitors, guiding them to what they need quickly and easily. In fact, almost 40% of visitors check out your navigation bar first thing.

So, how do you create a navigation bar that makes visitors happy? We've got you covered. We'll show you 10 clear and easy-to-use navigation bar examples to inspire you. Keep reading to learn how to keep visitors engaged and coming back for more.

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Top 10 Cool Website Navigation Bar Examples

Even after you’ve got a well-designed website, you can still lose around 55% of your visitors because of a poor navigation bar design. So, if you don’t want to lose any more visitors, have a look at our 10 effective navigation bar examples:

1. Verk

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Simplicity involves two steps: identify the essentials and eliminate the rest. Verk did the best of both. They understand that focusing on the essentials leads to a better user experience. Forget cluttered screens – Verk uses clean white space and clear text to guide you.

And the navigation is a breeze, too. A simple bar at the top highlights their two key products: watch straps and watches. They also offer a modern hamburger menu for easy access to other sections.

Even the footer is streamlined. A sitemap lists all their pages, but it doesn't overwhelm you. Verk keeps things clear and concise, ensuring a distraction-free browsing experience.

2. Franklin Sports

Franklin Sports takes navigation to the next level by incorporating product recommendations and social proof right in the navigation bar. This means you can see their most popular items as soon as you land on the site, saving you valuable time searching.

Their navigation bar offers seven main categories, each a gateway to sporting goods. Click on any category, and a detailed dropdown menu appears, showcasing a variety of products with images and descriptions. 

These menus are further divided by specific sports, making it easy to find exactly what you need – perfect for both browsing beginners and those with a specific sport in mind.

3. Space NK

The Space NK navigation bar combines hamburger and horizontal design. The top left menu bar, Shop All, is a hamburger bar that contains all the company's product lists.

You can easily find what kind of beauty products they’re up to. They add a New In option which builds excitement among customers and insists on visiting this page. 

4. Pipcorn

Pipcorn takes the cake (or should we say, the popcorn?) for the most stylish navigation bar on our list. They prove that functionality can go hand-in-hand with visual appeal.

Their horizontal navigation bar offers a clean layout. Clicking on any category reveals a dropdown menu packed with subcategories, complete with product images and clear pricing. 

This makes browsing a breeze, especially if you need to navigate through multiple subcategories. Pipcorn's design is a great example of how to keep things informative and enjoyable for the user.

5. Petersham Nurseries

Petersham Nurseries impresses us with its two distinct top navigation bars and a footer navigation bar. The green lines evoke a garden-like feel, perfectly matching the brand's personality.

We appreciate how they differentiate these two bars for members and new customers to make them more functional. 

Their expandable menu is simple, well-organized, and efficient. Whether you're looking for the store homepage or tableware, everything is just one click away. 

We love how they categorize items, tackling the tricky challenge of labeling by placing sub-categories under multiple categories when needed.

6. Patagonia

Patagonia understands that a well-organized website is key to a happy customer. Their navigation bar prioritizes clear hierarchy and consistent placement, making it intuitive to find what you need.

A hamburger menu offers quick access to helpful sections like press, customer service, and career opportunities. For shoppers, clicking "Shop All" drops a mega menu – a comprehensive roadmap to all their collections. 

This mega menu is visually engaging, featuring catchy illustrations to showcase different product categories. Patagonia's logical organization ensures a smooth browsing experience, mimicking the ease of navigating the great outdoors.

7. Olivier Gillaizeau

So far, we’ve shown you examples of navigation bars for various commercial sites. Now, let's see what the navigation bar of a portfolio website can look like.

It's super cool and has a vertical sidebar menu that is awesome. Instead of the usual boring navigation, Olivier has a timeline that shows off all his projects.

As you scroll, you can see his creative journey unfold. It's a pretty refreshed way to showcase his work, making the whole experience more engaging and fun to explore.

8. Politico

Designing navigation for large websites with hundreds of pages and products is challenging. But Politico did this difficult task very easily. That’s why we include it in our list. 

The most amazing thing about their nav design is their large, expandable menu. It covers the whole screen and is free from visual mortification. This design mirrors the strategy employed by e-commerce giants like Amazon.

The goal is to offer users enough options to find the specific content or products they want easily. Ultimately, this leads to more sales and revenue.

9. The Good Burger

This burger company is a good example of website navigation. Its design is not only functional but also affluent with personality. It's unique, easy to navigate, interactive, and enjoyable. 

The most interesting fact about them is that they use a hamburger menu, which is actually a burger icon. Though burgers are their main item, they sell other items like salads, desserts, and drinks. 

When you click on the burger icon, an expandable menu will appear with their entire menu. And this is the most enjoyable part of their navigation menu. They add a little icon for every type of food. 

Another feature we appreciate is that when you visit a specific product page, you’ll find an expandable nav bar for each page. Even when it isn’t expanded, it shows a progress bar, which gives you an idea about how much of the menu you’ve explored. 

That makes their website more enjoyable.

10. Lyft

Lyft caps off our list with a shining example of user-friendly navigation. As a car rental company, they understand the importance of getting you where you need to go quickly – and that applies to their website as well.

There's no getting lost in a maze of options here. Lyft's navigation bar is straightforward and easy to understand, offering a smooth browsing experience for both riders and drivers. The main navigation links are crystal clear, guiding users to key sections like "Ride," "Drive," and "Business."

To further enhance the user experience, Lyft features a sticky navigation bar that remains visible at the top of the page as you scroll. This user-centric design ensures you can always find your way around, keeping you engaged and on the move.

Types of Website Navigation Menus

Navigation menus to guide users through their browsing journey. These menus should be user-friendly and intuitive. Here are some of the most common types of website navigation menus:

Horizontal Navigation Menu‍

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The most common type of navigation menu. It's located at the top of the webpage and runs horizontally across the screen. 

These nav bars display the website's main sections clearly and concisely. It works well for websites with a limited number of top-level categories.

Vertical Sidebar Navigation Menu

You can place this navigation menu on the left or right side of the webpage. This type's real advantage is that it provides more space than horizontal menus.

That's why it's more suitable for websites with many categories or subcategories. Depending on your preference, this navigation bar could be static or collapsible.

Dropdown Navigation Menu

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Another beautiful type of navigation menu is the side dropdown menu. It is commonly located at the top of the webpage but also on different sites. A sub-menu appears when you hover over a top-level menu item.

This type of nav bar is useful for websites with a complex information hierarchy. The advantage of using this menu is that it allows you to link hundreds of pages. 

However, if not implemented correctly, it can be confusing for users. Additionally, adding too many subcategories can obscure the content of the webpage.

Hamburger Menu

This menu type is recognized by a three-horizontal line icon resembling a burger. It’s typically located in the top left corner of the webpage and expands when clicked.

This type of nav menu is commonly used on mobile websites to save space. It’s very easy to find and tap on.

Footer Navigation

You can use this navigation menu to link important but less frequently accessed pages, such as About Us, privacy policies, and contact details. It’s typically located at the bottom of the webpage.

Why is Website Navigation Important?

The primary objective of any webpage is to convert leads. To accomplish this, visitors need to engage deeply with your site. That means exploring multiple pages.

However, visitors will not stay a second on your website if they don’t find it easy to navigate what they’re looking for. So, your website should be easy to navigate, engaging, and well-designed.

The navigation bar menu plays an important role in that. Here's why website navigation is so important:

Builds User Engagement 

Easy navigation is the top priority for 94% of website visitors. If people can't find what they're looking for quickly, they'll leave. When your site is simple to navigate, visitors are more likely to explore multiple pages and interact with your content.

Lower Bounce Rates

Confused navigation drives visitors away. Up to 50% fewer visitors abandon your site if they can find what they need easily. Make your navigation bar clear and simple to keep visitors engaged.

Improve SEO Rankings

Search engines favor websites that provide a good user experience. Proper navigation helps search engine crawlers index your pages more efficiently, which can boost your rankings in search results.

User Retention

Intuitive navigation creates a smooth browsing experience, encouraging users to return. Research shows that 94% of first impressions are design-related, with navigation playing a key role. When you make your site easy to use, visitors are more likely to come back.

Remember, your website's main goal is to convert leads. To achieve this, you need visitors to engage deeply with your site by exploring multiple pages. A well-designed, easy-to-navigate website is essential for keeping visitors interested and encouraging them to take action.

How to Improve a Navigation Bar

The goal of most website owners is to engage more visitors and convert those visitors into sales. But how do you achieve this feat if your visitors don’t find your website user-friendly? 

That’s why you need to focus on optimizing your website's UX. A well-designed navigation bar is very important to enhance the overall UX of a website. And that’s why you should do it: 

• Focus on User Goal: Consider what users try to achieve on your site and design the navigation bar to help them get there. For example, an e-commerce site might prioritize categories and product listings, while a news site might focus on sections and recent articles.
• Keep it Simple: Avoid cluttering the navigation bar with too many options. Limit the top-level items to 5-7, and use dropdown menus for subcategories if needed. This will make it easier for users to scan and find what they want.
• Visual Hierarchy: Use visual cues like color, size, and spacing to create a hierarchy in your navigation bar. This will help users identify the most important sections of your site.
• Create Clear and Concise Labels: Use clear and concise language for your navigation labels. Each label should accurately reflect the content of the linked page.
• Mobile-Friendly Navigation Bar: When designing your navigation bar, ensure it’s compatible with different screen sizes.
• Search Bar Integration: Add a search bar to your navigation bar so users can find exactly what they're looking for.

Conclusion

To sum up, your website's navigation bar is key to its success. It directly impacts how visitors engage with your site, your conversion rates, and your search rankings.

You have freedom in designing your navigation, but the examples shown give you solid ideas from which to work. Remember, though - your users' needs should guide your design choices.

Keep your navigation simple and clear. When you do this, visitors will have a better experience and be more likely to come back. Focus on making it easy for people to find what they want, and you'll see better results for your site overall.

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