What is Breadcrumbs?

Websites with several pages are somehow complex to navigate. This causes the visitors to bounce back without going through all the pages because of bad navigation. Such internal navigation is essential to keep your visitors engaged and explore new things on the website. But it is not possible if you do not use effective strategies to improve it. So, breadcrumb navigation comes into the picture to enhance the navigability of the web pages so that the users can find their way around.

Most websites with large and hierarchically organized content use breadcrumbs navigation to improve the user experience. With breadcrumbs navigation in place, the user can quickly get to the higher-level page without performing much action. It also helps the users find out their location on any website, proving to be contextual information for the landing page. Also, you can encounter breadcrumbs navigation within web-based applications with more than one step.

In this article, we will be discussing breadcrumbs in detail, including different types, advantages, possible mistakes using breadcrumbs, best practices of implementing breadcrumbs, and others.

What are Breadcrumbs?

The idea of breadcrumbs comes into the picture from the famous German fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, where both siblings have used the literal breadcrumbs to mark their path throughout the jungle to find their way back. But what does it has to do with the websites and web design? And how does it helps the websites and web designers improve their navigation?

The breadcrumb navigation is a feature located at the top of any web page that helps the visitors know what pages they’ve been to and how they ended up on that page, which means what page they have navigated through to get there. With breadcrumbs, visitors get an effective visual aid helping them know their location within the website’s hierarchy. It is primarily effective for a website with many pages that is not easily navigable, but breadcrumb navigation makes it possible.

Breadcrumbs navigation helps you to find out the answers to the following questions.

• What is my location? You can see the navigation path at the top of your website indicating your current location of yours concerning the website’s hierarchy.
• Where can I proceed from that location? Breadcrumbs improve the navigability of the web pages and help the visitors find the next page where they can navigate from the current web page. The structure of websites becomes more manageable and navigable with breadcrumbs. It eliminates the need to go repeatedly to the main menu to see the navigation, ensuring high-end browsing. Considering a situation where the visitor lands on the product page and finds out that the product is not the right choice. But the page also displays other similar products reducing the bounce rate and leading the visitor to another product page.

Different types of breadcrumbs

Various types of breadcrumbs are available that you can implement within your website. We have mentioned them in detail to know where to implement which type of breadcrumb navigation.

• Hierarchy-based breadcrumbs

This breadcrumb navigation is popularly used on many websites. It helps the visitors to understand the structure of the website they are accessing. You will see the navigation of the pages at the top of the website, where each page is separated by the (>) character. For example- Home > Blog > Category > Post name. You can know how many pages you have to navigate to the home page.

Source- https://www.deepanshugahlaut.com/blog/how-breadcrumbs-affect-usability-ux-seo/

• Attribute-based breadcrumbs

Such types of breadcrumbs are visually available on the e-commerce websites. The navigation trail is based on the product attributes. For example, the visitor is looking for the specific brand and has applied filters to narrow down the search. So the navigation looks like- Home > Product category > Gender > Size > Color.

Source- https://www.deepanshugahlaut.com/blog/how-breadcrumbs-affect-usability-ux-seo/

• History-based breadcrumbs

The navigation will depend on what you been searching for within a website. It will open several pages regarding to your search, so you can scroll up and down through the different pages to find the desired product.

Source- https://vwo.com/blog/why-use-breadcrumbs/

• Location-based breadcrumbs

This type of breadcrumbs represents the structure of the website, letting the visitors understand and navigate throughout the structure. It is beneficial for those visitors who are redirected to the website from an external source and what to know their location.

Source- https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/03/breadcrumbs-in-web-design-examples-and-best-practices/

Reasons to use Breadcrumbs.

These little pointers will improve the overall experience of your website. You will see the difference in how it keeps the visitors engaged by eliminating their navigation challenges on any website. So, if you have not implemented them on your website, you must consider them now. If you are not convinced enough, we have to make a list of its benefits. Let’s check them out.

• Popular among Google

Breadcrumbs are much popular on Google. It attracts more visitors as they find it easy to navigate. It helps the visitors and Google to understand your website’s entire structure is the way Google can use this structure in their search results, improving the navigability of your website. If you want your breadcrumbs to appear in Google, you must consider adding the structured data as Yoast SEO does.

• Improves user experience

Whenever visitors land on a new website, they want to look for some recognizable products. With a complex navigational website, there is the likelihood of increased frustrated visitors increasing the bounce rate. To improve their experience, the website must try to reduce the friction efficiently to keep them engaged. It helps the visitors to navigate easily throughout the website, so there is no need to go back to the main menu again to look for the following options.

• Reduces the bounce rate

Most of the website’s traffic is from external sources, which means any part of your website is an entry point for your visitors. You need to make sure that the visitor does not feel lost and try to figure out on what page he is. So, you must come up with a method to guide them through your website in an easier way. Using breadcrumbs effectively lowers your bounce rates and provides the visitors with an alternate way to explore your website.

• Can fit in small space

Breadcrumbs will not take much of your website’s space. As it is said, minimal things create the most impact. This goes with the breadcrumbs. You need to make it more simple and visible.

Tips for integrating Breadcrumbs in WordPress

Wordpress is one of the most commonly used CMS platforms for creating websites. Its immense features make it easier for beginners to get started. It lets you add breadcrumbs to users and search engines.

Below are some easy ways to add them to your WordPress.

• Yoast SEO

If you already have Yoast SEO for your WordPress, then adding breadcrumbs using it will be a matter of time. Below are the steps to implement breadcrumbs using Yoast.

• First, log in to your WordPress and navigate to the main dashboard.
• You will see the SEO option on the left-side panel. Click it.
• Now, go to the search appearances. Click it.
• You will see the breadcrumbs option, as shown in the below image.

• Scroll down and toggle the breadcrumbs option.
• After enabling it, fill in the following settings.

​Then save the changes.

• Then reload the page where you have enabled the breadcrumbs option.

• WordPress Plugin

If you are not working with the Yoast SEO plugin, you can find several other plugins to add breadcrumbs to your website. We are using the Breadcrumb NavXT plugin, as it is easy to implement with simple steps and enables the locational breadcrumbs. Below are the simple steps.

• First, you need to install and activate the Breadcrumb NavXT plugin under Plugins > Add New.
• Go to the Settings > Breadcrumb NavXT.
• Here, you can see the default settings. Under the General tab, you can change the way of working the breadcrumbs for your entire site. You can change the breadcrumbs format from the Post Types tab.
• Then Save Changes.

• WooCommerce Breadcrumb plugin

You can use this breadcrumb plugin for your eCommerce website for easy navigation. It is a lightweight plugin allowing you to restyle the built-in WooCommerce breadcrumbs.

Below are the simple steps to add the breadcrumbs using the breadcrumb plugin.

• ​​First, install and activate the plugin under Plugins > Add New.
• You can see a new Breadcrumb option on the left-side panel.
• Select the Breadcrumb plugin.
• Go to settings to configure as per the requirement.
• After making the changes, click save changes.
• Then navigate to the post where you want to add the breadcrumb within the WordPress editor and paste the following. Shortcode.

[breadcrumb]

A common mistake while using breadcrumbs for SEO

Though implementing breadcrumbs to any type of website is an easy process. But implementing breadcrumbs can lead to other problems that you should consider. We have mentioned some common mistakes that you might encounter, so try to avoid them, or else you will increase your work.

• Avoid being too big or too small breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs are used to improve the visibility of your website’s structure. Use a slightly smaller font and place them at the top of the page, under the logo image, where it can be visible. So it needs to be simple and easily visible, so the visitors do not have to put effort into finding one. Else its purpose will be lost.

• Do not repeat the navigation bar.

Adding multiple navigational bars within your website will not add any value. So try to make a simple look for your website specifying the purpose of your website. In creating a website, a designer needs to take care of several things to perform it perfectly. If one of the things gets imbalanced, it will jeopardize the performance of your website.

• Do not avoid navigational bars to encourage the breadcrumbs.

As we have discussed not to use multiple navigational bars for your website. But you should not ignore the main navigational bar by preferring the breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs are just an additional navigational feature that helps improve your website’s structure.

• Using the wrong breadcrumbs.

Most websites use location-based breadcrumbs, but it is not a good idea to use them everywhere without its requirement. The breadcrumbs location does not fit the site with a nested structure where you can find several pages under a few categories.

In that case, the history-based breadcrumbs are the right choice.

Breadcrumb Navigation Best Practices

While adding a breadcrumb to your website, you must follow the below-mentioned best practices for more effective results.

• Do not replace the main navigation bar.

Without a navigational bar, it might be challenging to navigate the entire website. Breadcrumb is an alternative way to navigate around your website. Adding breadcrumbs along with the main navigational bar improves the navigation. As you can see in the following image that the Apple website has two navigational bars- the main bar and the breadcrumbs on the top right corner.

• Never include the link to the current web page.

If you see, the last item in the breadcrumb trail is optional as it specifies the current web page will not add value to your website and only increase your efforts in managing that link. e. If you want to include the name for the current page in the trail of your breadcrumb, so make sure that the link is not clickable.

• Use proper separators

The commonly used separators are (>) for creating a breadcrumbs trail. This character specifies the website’s hierarchy and explains how the flow works within the website. But, it is upto you what symbol or character you want to use for your breadcrumbs. Make sure that the symbol goes with the aesthetics of your website and blends perfectly with the look and feel of your website. Below are some examples of how differently you can customize your breadcrumbs.

Source- https://dribbble.com/shots/2646721-Breadcrumbs

Source- https://dribbble.com/shots/2729768-Breadcrumbs

• Choose the right size and padding.

While designing any website, the size of every section matters a lot in creating a fantastic experience for your visitors. If you overcrowd your website with different elements, visitors will most likely avoid it. Having a streamlined website creates an outstanding impact. So, you must implement the right size and padding of your breadcrumbs, as it is also crucial in driving traffic to your website. But, also keep in mind that the breadcrumbs do not overpower your website.

• Do not create your breadcrumb, the center focus for your website.

Though breadcrumb is a crucial factor for easy navigation, it must not be the focal point for your website. You must style your breadcrumb so that it should not grab the attention of your visitors in the first place. Do not make it too eye-catchy to distract the visitor from its motive. For example, as you can see in the below image, the breadcrumb trail in the top right corner is too attention-grabbing, which is not our purpose.

Source- https://dribbble.com/shots/2429418-Breadcrumbs

Conclusion

If you are running an online business or having an eCommerce website, then using breadcrumbs navigation is a boon for your website. It might not be that big feature, but it works wonders when appropriately implemented. This feature encourages the visitors to continue with the website’s flow. It lets the visitors take some necessary action that helps your business generate more leads. It is an excellent feature for the visitors who have landed on your website for the first time and do not know where to proceed to make a purchase.

It is a cheap option for improving the experience of your website. You need to be creative and customize the breadcrumbs navigation bar using different plugins. Once you go through this article, you can understand how using different breadcrumbs in specific places can impact the website’s performance. So, it is recommended to implement the breadcrumbs within your website for more promised results.