Re: Multiple ways of accessing content

Hullo,

I'll not beat the point to death, but I do agree that having multiple  
ways to the same information can be valuable. The one caveat, that  
David touched on, is that you should try and reduce the potential for  
confusion.

The biggest question that I try to ask myself might be: "Now that I  
am here, do I have enough cues to get back here, even if not by the  
original path that I took."

An simple example of this might be if a user navigated to a piece of  
content via the sites search engine. Once they get there, is the  
breadcrumb prominent enough and the navigational cues strong enough  
to indicate where the content lives in the sites hierarchical structure.

With conventions like faceted navigation, dynamic breadcrumbs, or  
other automated means of enhancing "findability" of content, I think  
it's more important to reinforce where content actually lives and the  
constant way to return to it. Dynamic paths can always change, search  
result position can move, so try and tell the user the context of  
where they've landed. And, for goodness sakes, make it bookmark  
friendly.

Best Regards,
Sam

    --------------------------------------------------------------
    Tip of the Day: Use the archives to research common questions
     CHI-WEB: www.sigchi.org/web POSTINGS: mailto:[email protected]
              MODERATORS: mailto:[email protected]
       SUBSCRIPTION CHANGES & FAQ:  www.sigchi.org/web/faq.html
    --------------------------------------------------------------