Home link
The Design Need:
Users need to be able to go back to a safe/starting/familiar point on the website.
Design Examples:
Design Solution:
Offer a link back to the home page on every page of the website.
- Offer a separate text link to the home page
- Use the company logo to link back to the home page
- Use both
- The link and/or linked images should always be in the same location on all pages and best near the top of the page
- If the website has more than one home, then be sure to make the distinction in linking between the root home and the local home.
When to use:
Almost all websites have a homepage. Always offer users a way back to this “starting” point.
Why use this solution (rationale):
Users may enter the website via all kinds of routes, and most of the time not through the homepage. Users want an easy way to get to the starting point (front end) of the website. Many users return to the homepage to begin a new task or to start a task again. The homepage serves as a safe point from which to start action.
You'll find this pattern is often on:
- Top left of site
More info elsewhere:
- A related design pattern on www.welie.com
- A related design pattern on www.uipatterns.com
