Breadcrumb navigation, also called breadcrumb navigation or ariadne navigation, is a secondary navigation within a website that helps the visitor better understand the hierarchy and structure of the website. It provides a supplementary guide and shows the path the user has taken from the home page to the currently visited page.
Advantages of breadcrumb navigation
- Improved usability: Visitors can grasp the hierarchical structure of the website faster and have an easier way to return to previous pages.
- SEO Advantages: Search engines like Google use breadcrumbs to better understand the structure of a web page and take it into account when indexing the page. A well-implemented breadcrumb navigation thus improves the SEO performance of the website.
- Increases the time spent on the website: By improving the user experience and providing guidance, visitors stay on the website longer and navigate to other pages or subpages more easily.
Components of a breadcrumb navigation
A typical example of breadcrumb navigation might look like this:
Home > Category > Subcategory > Articles
The breadcrumbs consist of a sequence of links, where each link represents a level of the web page. The breadcrumbs usually start at the home page and follow the hierarchical structure to the visitor's current location. Relevant keywords are always used to vividly represent the content of a page or category level.
Implementation of breadcrumbs in WordPress
In WordPress, breadcrumbs can be implemented using plugins or custom code. Popular plugins for breadcrumb navigation are for example Breadcrumb NavXT or Yoast SEO, which offer breadcrumb functionality along with many additional SEO features.
Regardless of the implementation method chosen, breadcrumbs should always be placed prominently, but unobtrusively, within the web page in order to have their full effect and help visitors navigate.
