An Ultimate Guide To Using Breadcrumbs In Your Website Design

Offering an optimized user experience is the primary goal of every website on the internet. But most of the time new users landing on your website get lost, mainly on websites with a lot of pages. To make site visitors find the right information and navigate through your website without getting lost it’s essential for every business as well as ecommerce website to add “Breadcrumbs” to the website.   

Businesses that are getting their website design by an experienced WordPress web design company must be offering access to these breadcrumbs for a better and optimized user experience. The breadcrumbs you add to your website act as the secondary navigation scheme that helps the user identify the location on a website. Many site owners are aware of the term breadcrumb and how they can add it to their website but there are few who do not have any idea about how they can add breadcrumbs to their website.  

So if you are scrolling the internet to know about how you can add breadcrumbs in your website design and how breadcrumbs can help you to enhance your website design, reputation, and performance. Then make sure you stick till the end of this article. If you are looking to enhance the user interface for your website then make sure to check our blog on UI (User-Interface) Design Tips: 10 Proven Tips to follow in 2021

Table Of Content: 

An overview of website breadcrumbs 

If you are not new to the website design industry then you must have come across the terms breadcrumbs.  Earlier breadcrumbs used to be the feature offered by different websites but now if you are looking to enhance your website design and user experience then it has become essential for every website to add the breadcrumbs. It acts as an important part of a good and well-designed website

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Every person gets lost if they are visiting a new park, city, or mall and these types of activities frustrate them. Instead of finding the right direction people start to look for the exit. In the same way when a new user lands on your website to find the particular solution and if the other elements or links take them to another page. There are high chances that your site visitor might get lost in your website. 

Well if people get lost in streets or parks then they have other people around them from where they can assist. But it’s totally the opposite when it comes to website design, instead of seeking help users abandon the website and leave it without performing the desired action. So adding breadcrumbs into your website will not only help your site visitor but will also help your website and business in improving website conversion, reducing bounce rate, and overall performance. 

Mainly if you are running an ecommerce website then it’s essential for you to include the breadcrumbs in your ecommerce website design. Your website might contain a number of pages and there are high chances of users getting lost in your online store. Adding breadcrumbs to your website can help them to identify where they started and how they can go back to the same page by clicking on one link.

Most of the time breadcrumb navigation is overlooked while designing the website because many businesses still find it as an unnecessary element. But after the website starts getting a high bounce rate and reaches out to an experienced website design company they tend to realize the importance of having bread crumb navigation.  Adding breadcrumbs helps in improving website usability and encourages site visitors to explore more about your website, product, and business. 

So before we start listing the importance of having breadcrumb navigation and how you can add it to your website. Let’s start with understanding what then we will move on to different stature that you can opt for your breadcrumbs.

However, if you are looking to know about website design mistakes that you can avoid in 2021 then make sure to check our article on 8 Common Web Design Mistakes To Avoid In 2021.

What is Breadcrumb Navigation? 

Breadcrumb navigation is a visual guide that is often located on the top below the banner or menu that helps users to identify whether they are on your website. Or we can say it helps site vt5or to track their path so that they are aware of the page they landed and how they navigated to the page they are on. If you have visitors from top websites like Zappos or H&M then you must have found navigating like Homepage > Online shopping > Shoes > Women Shoes. These types of breadcrumb trail help users find where they landed in the beginning and where you are right now.

By adding breadcrumb navigation you are offering freedom to your audience to explore different products and services on your website and then return back on the same page that they landed in the beginning to make the final purchase. It also helps your site visitor to understand the structure of your website and users also start to predict what they can find on the page just by looking at tile. So many people wilder why the name “Breadcrumb” was assigned to it. 

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So the term was picked from a tale where Hansel and Gretel went to the woods and during their journey, they dropped a trail of breadcrumbs so that they can trace their way back. The same model was adopted to helps the site visitor navigates to different websites. Not only by the user but the breadcrumb is also used by google search results as its helps user to get a better understanding of whether the pages sites in your website.

By now you might have a good idea of what is breadcrumb navigation. Before we start exploring the advantage of adding breadcrumbs to your website. We would like to clear one of the biggest misconceptions that breadcrumbs can be implemented in only one structure. There are different types of breadcrumb that can be used to create the most effective website for your business. 

If you are looking to optimize your website navigation then make sure to check our blog on Website Navigation Guide: Improve Your Website Navigation Using Proven Tips In 2021

3 types of breadcrumbs that you can consider for your website 

There are three types of breadcrumbs that can be used by websites in their design. So lest starts with getting an in-depth idea of each one of them: 

1. Location or hierarchy based breadcrumbs 

The first in the list we have one of the popular and widely adopted types of breadcrumbs i.e. “Location-Based Breadcrumbs”. The location-based breadcrumbs make it clear for the site visitors about where they are on the website or whether the page displayed in the breadcrumb stands in the hierarchy of the website. Not only that but it also allows users to jump directly on the broader category. 

For example, if you are someone is looking to buy leather shoes and they land on one of your product pages but due to the design or color, they didn’t like the product. So the next theing they will look into is to explore more options. Well, now the question is how does the user get onto the category page or the sub-category? 

With the help of hierarchy-based breadcrumb, your site visitor will be able to identify where they are on your web page and depending on thet they move up to the category page. If your current website has 2 levels of content then it’s recommended to add location-based breadcrumb navigation to your website.

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2. Path or history-based breadcrumbs 

Next in the list, we have another popular type of breadcrumb that highlights the steps user took on your website to reach the page they are viewing. It will also help the user to browse back to the previous page they visited. These types of breadcrumb navigation are mostly seen on websites where user indeed to fill forms that takes user form one step or another. If a website is using the path or history-based breadcrumb navigation then site visitors will be able to check the previous data in the form and if there are any changes required then they can make 

It can be used on any website whether it’s a business website, ecommerce website, or lead generation website. Mainly if you running an ecommerce website then including a path or history-based breadcrumbs can help users that are applying multiple filters on the category page. With the help of history-based breadcrumbs, shoppers can quickly jump from one page to the previous page depending on the filter they selected. Most of the e-commerce websites are already using “Back to results” like thet takes the user to the previous page.

If you are getting your website design from an experinced WordPress web design company then you do not have to worry about the type as they will select the right one depending on your website and business.  

3. Attribute-Based Breadcrumbs

Last but not least, next we have another important type of breadcrumb navigation that you can integrate into your website design to display attributes selected by the user. Like the other two types of breadcrumb, it doesn’t help the user to move back or front but allows them to see the attribute they have selected and from the same options, they can remove attributes depending on their needs. Attribute-based breadcrumb is widely used by e-commerce websites on the category page where users select different filters to search for the right product. 

So this particular breadcrumb might not encourage you to embed them in your website design. But if you are running an eCommerce website where your category or the subcategories page has multiple products depending on size, color, features, and more then it’s essential for you to add attribute-based breadcrumb in your website design to enhance your website online shopping experience. The easier it is for users to access your online store the higher chances will be them returning back on your website to make their next purchase. 

Now that you have a brief idea about what is breadcrumb navigating and the different types of breadcrumb navigating that you can implement in your website design. Next, we are going to highlight some of the important points on how adding breadcrumb navigating and be beneficial for your website. 

How to identify whether my website needs breadcrumbs or not? 

Most of the websites often ask whether they should implement breadcrumbs in their website design or not. If yes then when should you use breadcrumbs? If these questions are troubling you then a great way to find the answer to whether your existing website will get benefits from the breadcrumbs or not is by making use of a sitemap or website navigation structure. 

You start by creating your website sitemap or a diagram that es the website navigating structure. Once you have that then you can start analyzing those sitemaps and structure, whether adding breadcrumbs to your website will offer you any benefit by improving your website navigation or not.  Breadcrumb navigation is generally used by large website thet comes with hierarchically arranges web pages. 

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Most of the websites and businesses out there have a misconception that breadcrumbs are essential only for the e-commerce website. But in reality, any large website with a bunch of hierarchically arranged pages can have breadcrumbs in its website. It can be an e-commerce website as well as a blogging website. 

For standard websites, breadcrumbs can act as a feature but if you are running an e-commerce website then it must have breadcrumbs installed on your website. Because your online store might have a variety of products and if you are looking to encourage users to navigate through different pages then it’s essential to install breadcrumbs. 

If your business has a single-level website with no logical hierarchy then you can avoid adding breadcrumbs. Mainly for those who have a small personal blog website, websites displaying single services, product pages, and more. Remember the breadcrumbs you add to your website should be the extra feature for a better experience. It should not replace the existing primary navigation menus on your website. 

The breadcrumbs you add to your website act as the secondary navigating scheme thet helps users and hopper visiting your website navigate through your pages more effectively without getting lost. If you are looking to create a good website design that improves your website navigating and also the website conversion then it’s recommended to consult with an experienced website design company for your business.

What are the benefits of using breadcrumbs in the website design? 

Whenever a new user lands on your website from different sources and platforms, there are high chances that your site visitor might get lost if your website contains too many pages. The breadcrumbs you add to your website design act as a visual aid that indicates the location of the site visitor in the website hierarchy. The breadcrumbs navigating that you add to your website helps the user to find the answer for multiple questions like

  • Where am I on the website? 
  • How can I go back to the previous page? 
  • The title of the page and more 

As mentioned earlier adding breadcrumbs in your website design helps the user to identify the current location in the website and also improves the navigation of your website. Not only that but breadcrumbs also help users to understand your website structure. This way users don’t have to click on the menu option to determine different navigation options on your website. 

For instance, if a shopper lands on the product page and the product they view do not satisfy them or meet their needs. Then they will look to explore other products under the same category. Having breadcrumbs on your website allows shoppers to navigate directly to the category page where they can explore multiple products.   

There are a lot of benefits of using breadcrumbs like it takes minimum space in your website design (a row of text words with links). This way it doesn’t disturb your website design flow. And with the increase in the number of online shoppers, people are familiar with these breadcrumbs patterns. Well, the benefit or we can say the advantage of using breadcrumbs in your website design doesn’t end here there few more advantage of using breadcrumbs let’s take a look at them: 

1. Helps in improving user experience

We have mentioned in the beginning that the breadcrumbs you add to your website help the user in multiple ways that contribute toward enhancing your website’s overall user experience.  Today if you are looking to create a strong online presence with a goal to drive maximum prospects on your website then it’s essential to offer an optimized user experience to your prospects. 

Most of the users landing on your website might be visiting your website for the first time and there are high chances of feeling lost. That is why your goal should be to make your site visitor focus more on the content, product/services, and other information than getting lost about where to go on your website. Breadcrumbs are one of the simple ways to guide users about their activities and locations. 

Instead of spending hours, days, and months optimizing your website’s main navigation or experimenting with the design, layout, and more of your main navigation. You can focus more on identifying what type of breadcrumb navigation is best suited for your website and how you can add and place it in your website design. If your prospects are happy with your website then they will never hesitate in performing the desired action. 

If you are looking to know more about how you can improve your website user experience then we recommend you consult with highly experienced WordPress website design professionals for your website.   

If you are looking to improve your website UX/UI then make sure to check our blog on
UI (User-Interface) Design Tips: 10 Proven Tips to follow in 2021
Website UX & UI: How Google Analytics Can Be Used To Improve Website UX And UI?
Ecommerce UI Design Guide: How to improve e-commerce Website UI Design For User?

2. Reduces website bounce rate 

Every website on the internet looks for different ways and techniques that can help them to reduce website bounce rate. Because this particular metric does not only affect the conversion rate but also reduces the ranking and there are high chances that visitors who are leaving your website might never return back. If we explain in terms of examples then a shopper visiting your website may not be satisfied with the product or its appearance so they will have two options either bounce back from that page or visit the category page to explore more products. 

The breadcrumbs you add to your website will encourage the site visitor to explore more products instead of bounce back to some other website. The breadcrumb you add to your website displays the hierarchical structure of your website where the category or subcategory link is placed just before the product page users are viewing. Remember every web page in your website acts as the landing page so adding breadcrumbs makes it easy for you to direct your site visitor to other pages on your website. 

To make your breadcrumb navigation more effective you can add a small pop-up instruction that tells the user about how they can navigate back to the homepage or the category page with the help of breadcrumbs. This way you will be making things easier and faster for people who visited your website for the first time or using the breadcrumbs for the first time. 

3. Adding breadcrumbs impresses google and other search engines 

By now you might have a good idea about how breadcrumbs can help your site visitor and enhance the user experience. Apart from your prospects, search engines also give preference to websites with breadcrumbs. Or in simple words, we can say it has become one of the requirements for every larger website to include breadcrumbs in their website for better ranking. The breadcrumbs navigation you add to your website helps site visitors to demystify the hierarchy of your website.  Depending on the search engine analyze the important pages on your website. 

Yes, the sitemaps you include in your website also helps search engine bots to determine the structure of your website. Adding breadcrumbs to your website can be beneficial in many ways. It not only helps Google to determine how your website is structured but sometimes Google makes use of the breadcrumbs in the search results page making your result much more effective and eye-catching.  

If you want to increase the chances of breadcrumbs appearing in your search result then we recommend you add structured data with the help of the Yoast SEO plugin. Well, there isn’t a guarantee that after adding the structured data breadcrumbs will start appearing in the search results but there are high chances that Google might show up on the search result page. 

4. Helps in increasing the average time spent on the website 

The breadcrumbs you use in your website citation the links of different pages placed within the same hierarchy. So if users landing on your webpage are able to recognize the breadcrumbs then there is a high chance that users might show the internet in checking out other pages in your website as well. This way you will be able to increase the number of time users spend on your website.

Many SEO experts claim that when it comes to ranking google always wants to give preference to websites that are liked by users. So they consider metrics like bounce rate, average time spent on the page, and more to identify the quality of a website and web page. If users start to spend more time on your website then it will help you to improve your website ranking as well as reputation.  

If you are looking to engage more site visitors on your website then we recommend you consult with an experinced SEO and WordPress web design company for your website and business.

5. Takes less space and offer more functionality 

The breadcrumbs you add to your website are placed on the top below the menu in a simple small plain font that takes up little space in your website design. So If you are worried about the design then you don’t have to because the breadcrumbs require little space on your website and you get full freedom to decide the size of the font and row. It will be beneficial mainly for mobile users. If a user is visiting your website from their mobile devices then they will look to get the same experience as a desktop. So if you are looking to offer the same experience without disturbing your website design then don’t hesitate to add breadcrumbs as it barely takes up any space in the website design. 

Now that you are aware of how you can identify whether your website needs breadcrumbs or not and the advantages of using breadcrumbs in your website. Next, we are going to give some of the best breadcrumb navigation practices to consider in 2021.

If you are familiar with the breadcrumbs then you must have seen that it appears in the horizontal line on the top of the page below the menu. So it’s not just about implementing the design but making it effective so that you are able to take the advantage of displaying the breadcrumbs in your website design. So below we are going to highlight some of the best breadcrumbs navigation practices that you can consider while implementing it on your website:

1. Make sure you are not using it as the replacement of primary navigation

The breadcrumb navigation you add to your website acts as the navigating that helps the user to move back and forth between pages. But make sure you are not using the breadcrumbs as the replacement of the primary navigation. Instead, you can make it the extra feature that is specifically built to help users switch pages in place in a hierarchical way. You can think of breadcrumb as the additional navigation that is embedded to engaging user experience as well as ranking. 

2. Avoid adding the current page in the navigation 

The breadcrumbs you use in your website are embedded so that users are able to move back to the pages. Displaying the current page in the breadcrumb navigation makes no sense because users are already on that page. But if you feel that the last item in the breadcrumb trail should be the page that users are on then we recommend you not to make the link clickable. Since users are on the page it makes no sense to add a clickable link to the same page. 

3. Make use of separators between levels (>)

If you want the user to recognize breadcrumbs easily then it is recommended to follow the common trend by displaying (>) “greater than” symbol. It shows the connection between the higher-level and lower-level pages. The greater than symbol you use in your breadcrumb train displays the hierarchy like parent page > category page > child category. Apart from greater than, websites also make use of an arrow as the symbol and so the website even makes use of right angle quotation marks and slash. But we always recommend going with the trend that is adopted by the website in your industry. Because your prospects might be familiar with those symbols so it will be easy for them to recognize breadcrumbs on your website. 

4. Select the right padding and size 

The size and padding of your breadcrumb navigation is another aspect that you can consider t while implementing it on your website. When it comes to deciding the padding and size then you should go through other websites and think carefully about it so that users are able to interact with the breadcrumb navigation displayed on your website, regardless of the screen it is getting opened on. 

Make sure there is sufficient space between different levels of navigation or else people might face difficulty using the breadcrumbs, mainly those who are accessing your website from mobile devices. But at the same time remember not to create large breadcrumb navigation because it can dominate your primary navigating and the whole design. So your goal should be to create less prominent breadcrumb navigation than the primary navigation menu. 

5. Make sure it is placed on the top 

Almost every navigation bar on the website is placed on the top of the website. In the beginning, we have mentioned that the breadcrumb acts as the secondary navigation of your website. Yes, there are page links that are displayed in the footer of the website as well. But when it comes to the secondary navigation website needs to place it on the top so that it grabs user attention. Placing it in the middle of your website can destroy the whole design and placing it at the end will not offer you any results. So it’s always recommended to place the breadcrumb navigation at top of your website design.  

6. Don’t make it the focal point of your website 

When we say focal point then the whole sizing and styling of the breadcrumb come into the picture. The breadcrumb navigating you add to your website should not be the first element that grabs user attention. When every user lands on your website the first thing that catches their eye is the bold content, visuals, and more. Highlighting breadcrumbs with different colors like yellow can grab more users’ eyes and instead of exploring the page, they may switch to another page. In short, it’s too good to add attractive breadcrumbs but making it eye-catching is not a tip that you should consider because it can act as a distraction on your website. 

How to add breadcrumbs to your WordPress website? 

If you are a new beginner and looking to know how you can add breadcrumbs to your WordPress website then take a look at 4 different ways through which you can add breadcrumbs to your WordPress website. 

1. Enable breadcrumbs in the Yoast SEO plugin 

In the above paragraphs, we have mentioned that Yoast SEO allows you to easily add breadcrumbs to your website design. It is one of the popular and widely used SEO plugins that help WordPress users to optimize their web pages for better search engine ranking. The plugin allows users to analyze whether their web page is search engine friendly or not. It comes with a bunch of other features that can help in improving website visibility along with adding breadcrumb. So to include breadcrumbs in your website with the help of the Yoast SEO plugin: 

The first thing that you can start with is installing and activating the plugin in your WordPress dashboard (if you don’t have the plugin installed on your website). Once you are done with downloading the plugin then if you are looking to implement the breadcrumbs site-wide then you need to copy the code and paste it in your theme where you want your breadcrumbs to be placed. Some of the common places where you can place the breadcrumbs are in the page.php file and in the single.php file (above page title). 

<?php

if ( function_exists(‘yoast_breadcrumb’) ) {

  yoast_breadcrumb( ‘<p id=”breadcrumbs”>’,'</p>’ );

}

?>

Apart from that, there are other options that you can use like pasting the code in the header.php file at the very end.  But if you are not good with codes then we recommend consulting with an experienced website developer. Most of the time updating themes might override the custom code inserted in the website. That is the reason why we recommend taking the help of a developer so that you are able to avoid the problem. 

Once you successfully place the snippet the next thing you can do is go to the Yoast SEO option in your WordPress dashboard on the left sidebar and from the drop-down menu select search appearance then breadcrumbs in your dashboard. You will be able to see the breadcrumb setting in the right screen from there toggle the screen to enable it. Next, you can preview your screen to check the breadcrumbs on your website. 

2. Implement breadcrumb with the help of the WordPress breadcrumb plugin 

Implementing breadcrumbs with the help of the Yoast SEO plugin can be more convenient if you are making use of the plugin for other SEO purposes. However, if you are making use of other SEO plugins for your WordPress website then we recommend you to select different plugins specifically built for adding breadcrumbs in your website design. One of the popular breadcrumb plugins is  “Breadcrumb NavXT”. 

With the help of the breadcrumb next plugin, you will be able to add the breadcrumb widget in any widget area in your theme. It can be your sidebar and even footer but it’s always recommended to display it on the top or in the sidebar. Apart from that the plugin also offers different customization features that allow you to select which page you wish to display the trail. 

So to add breadcrumbs on your website with the help of the “breadcrumb NavXT ” plugin you need to install the plugin. Upon installation, you can navigate to the appearance option in the left sidebar under that click on the widgets. After that, you will start to see the breadcrumb NavXT widget on the right side of your screen. Just drag and drop it to the area where you want to display your breadcrumb trail. 

Once you successfully drop the widget next you can click on the drop-down arrow to access the widget setting and there you can fill in all the necessary information. After filling the option next you can select the checkboxes to add the links to your breadcrumbs, if needed you can hide the trail on the front page, ignore the breadcrumbs cache, and more. Once you are done with setting up the option then you can hit the save button to add the breadcrumb.  

There are other breadcrumb plugins available in WordPress like breadcrumb (light-weighted plugin), WooCommerce breadcrumb, flexy breadcrumbs, and more that you can use in your WordPress website for better conversion. 

3.  Make use of a theme that comes with pre-defined breadcrumbs

Well, the above options are best suited for WordPress websites using themes with no breadcrumbs but there are different popular themes that come with more advanced features and functionality. Mainly if you are starting a new website or planning to redesign your existing website and are in the process of selecting the right theme for your website then we recommend you to look at the features and functionality offered by the theme. 

There are different themes like OceanWP, Astra, and more that can be used to add the breadcrumbs easily on your website. This way you will be able to lower the efforts of adding breadcrumbs to your website. If you are getting your website designed or redesigned by an experienced WordPress web design company then you don’t have to worry about the breadcrumb as they ensure that your website comes with every feature and functionality that can enhance user experience and encourages them to perform the desired action.  

4. Add breadcrumbs manually to your website 

Not to mention but the theme and plugins you use in your WordPress website play a crucial role in making your website more accessible and user-friendly. But there are still many websites out there trying to limit code to improve the website speed and working. That is the reason why they prefer to write code instead of using plugins. If you are looking to display the product manually you can start with adding functions to your functions.php file to enable them. So here is an example of manual function code that you can use to add to your WordPress website design

function get_breadcrumb() {

echo ‘<a href=””’.home_url().’”” rel=””nofollow””>Home</a>’;

if (is_category() || is_single()){

echo “  »  ”;

the_category (‘ • ‘);

if (is_single()) {

echo “  »  ”;

the_title();

}

} elseif (is_page()) {

echo “  »  ”;

echo the_title();

} elseif (is_search()) {

echo “  »  ”;Search Results for…

echo ‘“<em>’;

echo the_search_query();

echo ‘</em>”’;

}

}

Once we successfully add the function next you need to define it in the template file where you wish to add the breadcrumbs. For example in your add the function on the single.php file then the breadcrumb will appear in your post, whereas adding it in the header.php file will allow you to display the breadcrumb in the header of every page. So before adding the file we recommend identifying where you wish to display the file. So here is how the code will appear: 

<div class=”breadcrumb”><?PHP get_breadcrumb(); ?></div>

Using the above code will enable the display of the simple breadcrumb on your website. However, if you wish to add breadcrumbs that match your website design. Then you need to play with CSS. Or you can also consult with an experienced website design company to do the job for you. 

Some of the common mistakes to avoid while implementing breadcrumbs

Now you might be familiar with different practices that you can consider before implementing the breadcrumb navigation in your website design. Next, we are going to highlight some mistakes that you can avoid while implementing the breadcrumb in your website design. Adding breadcrumb navigation to your website is fairly easy. There are few points or we can say the guideline that you can consider before implementing the design in your website. So before you add breadcrumbs navigating we would like to highlight some of the mistakes that you can avoid in 2021:   

1. Make use of breadcrumbs in unnecessary places

The first mistake that we recommend avoiding is making use of breadcrumb navigation on unnecessary pages. Most of the websites commit a common mistake by adding the breadcrumb navigation on the pages that can never offer any benefit. Avoid offering too much navigation under the same page. Having primary navigating and breadcrumb navigation can enhance the webpage but on the other hand, including three different types of navigating options on the same page can confuse users and drive them away from the website. 

If you feel that particular page can never get benefited from the bread crumb navigation then we recommend removing it. Because adding breadcrumb along with primary and secondary navigation can add no value because users will be able to make use of secondary navigation. So while designing the structure make sure you identify pages that need breadcrumb navigation and other pages that don’t. This way you will be making your website design more effective and converting. 

2. Not having an appropriate hierarchy 

In the beginning, we have mentioned that the breadcrumbs have a linear structure so it will become different for you to implement the breadcrumbs navigating if your pages can’t be classified into clean categories. The breadcrumbs are very much dependent on the website hierarchy. If your website has a clear hierarchy then site visitors will love interacting with your web pages with the help of breadcrumbs. 

Because it will be offering them options under the same category. If the lower-level page has more than one parent category then adding breadcrumbs in your website design can be confusing and ineffective. So before you start implementing breadcrumbs in your website design it’s recommended to get a better understanding of your website hierarchy. 

3. Avoid using breadcrumbs distributed in multiple lines 

Well, we have mentioned that the breadcrumbs are placed horizontally on the website. But most of the time in mobile devices breadcrumbs appear in multiple lines and take up all the valuable space or we can say the negative space. These types of multiline breadcrumbs not only destroys mobile design but also confuses site visitors as it appears on the top of the page. So after implementing the breadcrumbs we recommend you test them on mobile devices. 

4. Avoid using breadcrumb trail as the primary navigation

The breadcrumb trail you add to your website design will help your site visitors to navigate through other pages in the hierarchy. But if you start considering it as the primary navigation then you might do more harm to your website than any good. Remember the breadcrumb you add to your website will act as the secondary navigation of your website and using it as the primary navigation can infuse your site visitor. 

Still, there are many users who are not aware of how breadcrumbs work and appear but they are pretty much familiar with the primary navigation. So removing the primary navigation and using only breadcrumb navigation can confuse your site visitor and discourage them from performing the desired action. 

Conclusion

By now you must be aware of why breadcrumbs are essential for your website and how they can help you to improve your website navigation. It acts as the secondary navigation of your website that helps users to go back to previous pages and explore more about your website. To make the breadcrumbs navigation effective and helpful you need to have a proper hierarchical structure. If you are looking to create an effective layout and hierarchy then it’s recommended to consult with an experienced WordPress website design company that can help you to create the most effective and converting website design that drives more traffic and sales.