The frequency of Up-to-Parent
(28%) and of Across to Sibling (27%) links was similar;
however, they tended not to occur together (only 6% of pages
contained both Up-to-Parent links and Across-to-Sibling
links). Most instances of these links types occurring together
were pages using some type of tree-browser navigation system,
as shown below.
The page "Twin Sets" has Down-to-Child
links in the main content area, Across-to-Sibling links
on the left (under Sweaters) and links to the Parent level
(gray link on the left representing Women's apparel categories).
Absence of Up-to-Parent or Across-to-Sibling Links
The absence of either Up-to-Parent or Across-to-Sibling
links in 49% of pages represents a design approach focused
on presenting only global navigation and navigation down
the hierarchy.However, this seemingly streamlined approach
to navigation did not necessarily result in less complex
page layouts, as these pages sometimes contained promotional
content and links.
The hierarchical navigation on the "Office
Supplies" page is limited to Down-to-Child links and
global navigation to top-level categories (Furniture, Technology,
etc.), but promotional content on the left and links to
site features on the right results in a relatively complex
page layout.
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