If you have spent any time on the Web, you can probably remember at some point being lost in cyberspace. The ability to link virtually anywhere from a page can be confusing. A well-designed site offers good navigational tools to give the reader a clear, quick, and consistent method to move within the site. On the Teaching and Learning Online site, the list of documents on the Content page offers readers the option to jump from subject to subject by clicking on the title hyperlink. The back and next links at the top and bottom of each page offer readers the option to move from first to last page without returning to the Content listing.
Books tend to be linear, where one starts at the beginning and proceeds to the end.
Many Web site designs begin with a hierarchical diagram with the home page at the top and the main branches linked below. Four to five clicks should take users to 80 percent of the information they want. Much of page layout on the Web has to be accomplished within tables because HTML has no method to set margins or columns. Once designed, the HTML document can serve as a template for subsequent documents on your site. Keep paragraphs four to eight lines.