Why You Need Breadcrumbs

While some will argue that they are simply a crutch for shabby information architecture and may not be necessary, we believe that breadcrumbs are an integral part of a user-centric design. They are sometimes overlooked and undervalued, but they are an important piece of the branding that we are building across FIU department and college websites.

To put it simply, the benefits of including breadcrumbs in your site design far outweigh the costs.

• They greatly improve the “findability” of a web site’s sections and pages, essentially improving your site’s overall usability.
• They allow the user to freely move up or down within your site’s hierarchy with little or no issue.
• They help users understand where they are in relation to the rest of the site.
• They never cause problems during usability testing, and in fact they usually allow for a simpler form of site navigation.
• Breadcrumbs take up very little space on the page.

For more information best practices and examples of breadcrumbs in action, check out these resources:

• Breadcrumbs in Web Design: Examples & Best Practices
• How Breadcrumbs Enhance Your Website
• Use It.com – Breadcrumbs
• Breadcrumbs Showcase

FIU Web Communications is a full service web team that provides support and consulting for departments at FIU. If you need help in implementing any of your web needs, please contact us.

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