Superb overview of all the aspects of navigationdesign. Well structured with superb colour pictures of recent websites.

Only thing what I missed was the steve krugish humour. Not a real surprise because the author comes from Germany.

I am a webeditor and I'm going to use the knowledge from this book for the improvement of the navigation of my site.

This is an exhaustive book that summarizes a lot of aspects of website navigation. I recommend it mostly to information architects of bigger websites. It is more detailed on navigation than the Polar Bear book (Information Architecture for the World Wide Web), though I still find that book the absolute handbook on the topic.

The book consists of three parts:
The first part is about common user behaviours, types of navigation systems, labeling, etc. This part summarizes a lot of things you probably know but maybe it is not as structured in your head as the author makes it.

In the second part, the author presents a framework on how to design web navigation. From the evaluation to the actual visual layout of the navigation system, all relevant phases are discussed with examples.

The third part is about special navigation: search, social tagging and RIAs. A good intro to the topics with some interface patterns.

The book has a lot of screenshots that are quite current. Some chapters are quite self-explaining (ie. what are tag clouds, or what types of pages there are) but that is normal for a book that aims to be a baedeker for all things related to the topic.

This is an excellent new book about web navigation because: (1) includes a very selective and efficient review about the foundation of the topic; (2) explains the main principles about the discipline and the techniques relates with the web navigation design and, (3) the book itself has an excellent design, with a lot of illustrations, captures, pictures, etc. In my humble opinion is an essential book for anybody interested in quality web design.

This book's really targeted to make you think about how to make your site's visitors best able to easily and repeatedly find content you deem important. You won't find bits on CSS, Javascript, or Ajax. Instead you'll find out things such as selecting appropriate navigation menu styles for given contexts, information architectures, the impact of tagging systems, and some of the complexities around search.

The book's beautifully laid out with lots of shots of real websites scattered across full color pages to help illustrate important points.

The first chapters are pretty academic and can be pretty dry, but they provide good information on content/information architecture. The rest of the book is an easier read, but that doesn't mean you should skip the first chapters. Lots of good sidebars call out specific topics -- accessibility is a hot topic throughout the book and gets a lot of sidebar treatment.

The book's full of gems such as how you should consider workflows in navigation (think shopping cart systems, e.g.), or the differences between "lingo" and vocabularies. There are also a bunch of great references to other works, and each chapter has some nice exercises which are actually pertinent and helpful in making the reader more aware of that chapter's points.

I was surprised that globalization/localization didn't get more treatment in the book, but there are quite a few example screenshots and discussions around international websites.

Overall it's a very interesting, thought-provoking book.

As an application developer, I found the book extremely useful as it provides a vocabulary which one can use to discuss the User Experience on one's web site/application. The many examples (screen-shots) of web sites from around the world are extremely helpful as they demonstrate the design concepts discussed in the book.

The sections regarding Accessibility and Internationalization are indispensable. These two topics are critical for a successful web site or application.

I would have liked to see more content regarding web applications as used in the enterprise like Client Relationship Management. These applications aren't necessarily Rich Web Application (Web 2.0) as covered in chapter 13.

The full color print lends itself to the many screen-shots and diagrams, but the use of font type and color may be excessive (light gray on light blue doesn't really work, page 24).

The only upset I have is the page width; your eyes scan the text in an uncomfortable manner causing "eye fatigue".

All in all - this book is a must.

Are you a web- developer or designer? If you are, then this book is for you. Author James Kalbach, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that shows you how to analyze your business needs and translate them into a workable navigation system for your users.

Kalbach, begins with a discussion on specific problems regarding the designing of Web applications; as well as, conventional Web sites. Then, the author presents various options which are totally dedicated to working out navigation challenges in Web products. Next, he explains the variability of the rules in the complex contexts that Web workers tend to work in. The author also focuses on why you should not start by designing the navigation on the home page. He continues by addressing visual logic and information design. Then, the author discusses how to make decisions about the look and feel of a web site. Finally, he deals with users who use Search to find a page in a web site, are much less likely to browse the site than if they found the page using the site's own navigational aids.

This most excellent book is not a coding book. Nevertheless, it does explain the types of navigation that can be used during the web design phase.

This isn't a book in which the author has thrown in a grab bag of his experiences together and presented them with splashy graphics. Instead, Kalbach breaks out concepts, often presenting conflicting points of view (he mentions Alan Cooper's call to dispense with navigation entirely) and embellishes it with research from the fields of usability and human factors. This approach makes the book feel academic but it doesn't take away from the readability of the text at all. (In fact, it would make a pretty good textbook for a related course)

At one point in the initial chapter, Kalbach quotes research from usability expert Jared Spool that suggests that users who use Search to find a page in a web site are much less likely to browse the site than if they found the page using the site's own navigational aids.

This point is a critical one because it underpins Kalbach's focus on navigation. You can rely on Search to get users to your page, but the search engine now becomes the navigation of choice for the users - it has no vested interest in keeping users on your site. If you want your web site to be sticky, then design great navigation.

A little later when explaining the types of navigation and constructing key questions to formulate when designing navigation, you have the epiphany that this book isn't just about web sites. Instead it is laying down the paradigm for the flow of any application - networked or otherwise.

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The title of this book does tend to focus things, doesn't it? A book totally dedicated to working out navigation challenges in Web products means that it is destined to be a one-stop keeper on your shelf. If you work in any capacity on Web front-ends, navigation is often the issue of issues, the source of stimulating and heated team discussions. This book won't end those discussions but the information in it will certainly add calm perspective to them.

_Designing Web Navigation_ seems to have it all in one place, including practice discussion at the end of each chapter and further reading recommendations. The amount of information is impressive. There is not a page without a visual aid of some sort. I certainly like having lots of screenshots of real sites with the commentary of the author.

I also like the practical knowledge of the author which informs his writing -- he emphasizes the variability of the rules in the complex contexts we Web workers tend to work in. Note, for instance, how differently he approaches Amazon's tabbed navigation from how usability guru Jakob Nielsen writes of them. Nielsen never passes up an opportunity to exclaim what is wrong wrong wrong about Amazon's tabs. Kalbach, instead, explains the motivation behind each passing stage in the evolution of those same tabs, giving the dynamic context. This rings true for those of us with daily working knowledge in constructing user interfaces.

I was a bit disappointed that the book did not have more on the specific problems of designing Web *applications* instead of conventional Web sites. However, the book is written is such a way that this is not a problem. The advice and arguments on p.236 "Don't start by designing the navigation on the home page" encapsulates quite well something I have learned working on agile development teams over the years.

I had a few problems with the readability of this book. Page numbers look like squished gnats and all paragraph sub-headings were a pretty but painful light blue. The extremely large line-height weakened the separation of paragraphs.

As I mentioned, this book is chock full of the right material that belongs on your shelf for when you need it...and you will.
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This handsome volume will help web designers learn how to analyze their business needs and translate them into a workable navigation system for their users. Unlike some other design books, James Kalbach doesn't shove his own design principals down the reader's throat. Instead, he cites use cases and usability studies that will help readers figure out which design approach will best suit their needs.

Lots of screenshots from well-known websites, great layout and good organization make the book a pleasure to read. The book starts by explaining general principles, so even if you're new to the concept of interaction design, you'll quickly get up to speed. More advanced readers could skim the first chapters, and plunge in later, where they'll learn things like visual logic and information design. Each chapter ends with a good summary, thought-provoking questions that either reinforce or expand on the chapter's topics, and suggestions for further reading. Note: I do have one quibble with the layout. The page numbers are so small it made my eyes hurt. But everything else about the book's design is inviting and useful.

Caution, though, this is not a coding book. You won't learn how to make pop-up menus or write clean CSS. It's meant to help readers learn how to make decisions about the look and feel of a website. Even though the book is focused on web navigation, "regular" software designers will benefit, too, since so much interaction design is driven by users' expectations that all software should work like the web.