Advice and Recommendations on "Menu Items" for you website. "Menu Items", particularly the main menu items (text in green in the image below), are a very important part of your website and need some thought and consideration when deciding exactly what your going to include. There are many factors to consider when deciding your Menu Items so please review our thoughts below.
Length of the word(s) - The "Length" of the word(s) = width. It's important to understand that there is only a certain amount area all your Menu Items can fit. A.) In order for all your items to fit, the longer your word(s) are, the smaller the font has to be. B.) The more text/characters you have, the more "jumbled" or messy the menu looks. Furthermore, as the monitor / screen gets smaller, the smaller the font has to get. Although on a Mobile Device screen the menu is altered to one item per row.
Amount of Menu Items - We recommend up to 6 Main Menu Items with 4 or 5 being optimal. We know that clients want to try to get everything in the top main menu but as stated before, there is only a certain amount of space and "too much" is too much. Simplicity is key when somebody lands on your website. They want to be able to see your main focus quickly and cleanly.
The actual word(s) - Single words are best, two words are ok and... if you absolutely have to, three words (but this will take up a lot of space). Put yourself in your visitors position and try to think of a word or couple words that get your Menu Items meaning accross quickly.
Changing Menu Items - It takes a LONG time for your website to start ranking in all the search engines. Once your site starts ranking decently... and then you decide to change the main links... it throws a wrench in your ranking. The bot/system has to re-index/link your new layout and your ranking will probably drop back down again and your site will have to start making it's way back up. It's Very Important to initially think about what your main Menu Items will be and then if possible, don't change them. If you absolutely feel the need and have to change your main Menu Items, think hard about it before doing so.
