Making a Navigation Bar
A navigation bar is the backbone of any website's user interface, guiding visitors to the most important pages. For a bank website, it’s essential that the navigation bar is both functional and user-friendly, allowing customers to easily access services like account management, loan applications, and customer support. A well-crafted navigation bar improves user experience, which is crucial for SEO, and can help your courses page rank higher on Google. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to create an effective navigation bar, specifically tailored to a bank website, and how to optimize it for better performance.
1. What Is a Navigation Bar?
A navigation bar, or navbar, is a horizontal or vertical section at the top or side of a webpage that contains links to important sections of the site. For a bank website, the navbar might include links to services like online banking, loans, credit cards, and customer support. A good navigation bar should be intuitive, responsive, and easy to navigate, especially when dealing with financial services.
2. Example of a Navigation Bar for a Bank Website
Example:
<nav class="navbar">
<ul>
<li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="accounts.html">Accounts</a></li>
<li><a href="loans.html">Loans</a></li>
<li><a href="credit-cards.html">Credit Cards</a></li>
<li><a href="online-banking.html">Online Banking</a></li>
<li><a href="support.html">Customer Support</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>
Here’s what each of these sections typically includes on a bank's website:
- Home: A link back to the homepage, allowing users to start fresh and navigate to other sections.
- Accounts: A page dedicated to the different types of bank accounts (e.g., savings, checking, business accounts) with options for opening new accounts or managing existing ones.
- Loans: Information about the bank’s loan products, such as personal loans, home loans, auto loans, and business loans.
- Credit Cards: A section for credit card offerings, including application forms, types of cards, and benefits.
- Online Banking: A secure login page for users to access their accounts, transfer money, and pay bills.
- Customer Support: A contact page for customer service options, including FAQs, live chat, phone numbers, and email support.
Adding a Responsive Design:
In today’s mobile-first world, having a responsive navigation bar is essential. Your bank website’s navbar should look and function well on all screen sizes. You can use CSS media queries to ensure that the navigation collapses into a hamburger menu on smaller devices, providing a better user experience for mobile users.
/* Default navbar styling */
.navbar ul {
list-style-type: none;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
display: flex;
justify-content: space-around;
background-color: #003366;
}
.navbar ul li {
display: inline;
}
.navbar ul li a {
color: white;
text-decoration: none;
padding: 14px 20px;
}
/* Responsive styling for mobile */
@media screen and (max-width: 768px) {
.navbar ul {
flex-direction: column;
align-items: center;
}
}
In the example above, the navigation links are displayed horizontally on desktop screens and switch to a vertical layout on mobile devices.
3. Best Practices for a Bank Website Navigation Bar
Keep It Simple: Don’t overwhelm users with too many options. A concise and clear navigation bar leads to a better user experience.
Ensure Accessibility: Make sure your navigation bar is accessible to everyone, including users with disabilities. This can be achieved by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), ensuring that the navbar is usable by screen readers and can be navigated via keyboard.
Highlight Important Features: Features like online banking or customer support should be easily accessible. These are often the most visited pages on a bank’s website, so they should be prioritized in the navigation bar.
Use Clear Labels: Make sure each link in the navbar is clearly labeled so that users know exactly what to expect when they click a link. For instance, instead of just “Accounts,” you could label it as “Manage Your Accounts.”
Incorporate Dropdown Menus: If your bank offers a wide variety of services, a dropdown menu can help organize them in a more structured way. For example, under the “Loans” section, users could find options like “Home Loans,” “Auto Loans,” and “Personal Loans.”
Keep It Simple: Don’t overwhelm users with too many options. A concise and clear navigation bar leads to a better user experience.
Ensure Accessibility: Make sure your navigation bar is accessible to everyone, including users with disabilities. This can be achieved by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), ensuring that the navbar is usable by screen readers and can be navigated via keyboard.
Highlight Important Features: Features like online banking or customer support should be easily accessible. These are often the most visited pages on a bank’s website, so they should be prioritized in the navigation bar.
Use Clear Labels: Make sure each link in the navbar is clearly labeled so that users know exactly what to expect when they click a link. For instance, instead of just “Accounts,” you could label it as “Manage Your Accounts.”
Incorporate Dropdown Menus: If your bank offers a wide variety of services, a dropdown menu can help organize them in a more structured way. For example, under the “Loans” section, users could find options like “Home Loans,” “Auto Loans,” and “Personal Loans.”
<nav class="navbar">
<ul>
<li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="accounts.html">Accounts</a></li>
<li class="dropdown">
<a href="loans.html" class="dropbtn">Loans</a>
<div class="dropdown-content">
<a href="home-loans.html">Home Loans</a>
<a href="auto-loans.html">Auto Loans</a>
<a href="personal-loans.html">Personal Loans</a>
</div>
</li>
<li><a href="credit-cards.html">Credit Cards</a></li>
<li><a href="online-banking.html">Online Banking</a></li>
<li><a href="support.html">Customer Support</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>