Breadcrumb Navigation: Further Investigation of Usage

There has been speculation that a breadcrumb trail also aids the user's 'mental model' of the site's layout to reduce disorientation within the site (Bernard, 2003); however, we have not found research to validate this assumption. It would seem logical, however, that a constant visualization of the path to the user's current location would increase their awareness and knowledge of the site structure.

Rogers, Bonnie Lida and Barbara Chaparro. Usability News (2003). Design>Web Design>Information Design

Breadcrumb Navigation: Further Investigation of Usage

There are three different types of breadcrumbs represented in websites – path, attribute, and location. Path breadcrumb trails are dynamic in that any given page will show a different breadcrumb trail based on how the user reached the page. Attribute breadcrumb trails display meta information showing many different trails representing several possible paths to reach the page.

Rogers, Bonnie Lida and Barbara S. Chaparro. Usability News (2003). Articles>Web Design>Information Design