Breadcrumbs are a basic tool for directing visitors through the material on a website without them getting lost or confused. Breadcrumbs have been around since the 1990s and were formerly used in desktop computers with just one window showing content from the device being utilized. This is why the meaning of breadcrumbs was originally always shown as text links below or above the current screen that said: “Previous Page” and “Next Page” with periods between them for each page visited, often including an image representing the type of graphical interface being used.
Due to today’s use of multi-windows per device, there is no need for a text-based breadcrumb system. However, they can still be useful for those that aren’t as computer literate as others.
With the advent of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, there has been a growing movement to use graphical breadcrumbs instead of text links. This is so users don’t have to remember long sequences of pages to get back to an important one. This can be confusing for some users who are used to the simple click of a text link so it’s not always better, just different.
The main advantage of breadcrumbs is that they help guide users through content without them getting lost or confused as to where they are on a website or application. If they are well done, breadcrumbs can be a very effective way to help someone find their way back to a starting or key location.
However, as with all things on the Web, just because they’re good for some people doesn’t mean that they’re equally as helpful for everyone. In fact, there have been many experts over the past decade who have debated the benefits of breadcrumbs and whether or not their use on web pages is even worth the hassle. Unfortunately, the main reason they aren’t often used is because of how much time and effort it can take to implement them on a website, especially if you have a lot of content that needs breadcrumbs applied to it.