A website navigation checklist should verify that people can predict where a link leads, reach important pages with different input methods, and understand where they are after arrival. Review the information structure before polishing colors or animation; a menu cannot repair categories that do not match the content.
Check the information structure
List the main tasks visitors come to complete, then map each task to a visible route. Main navigation should use a small set of clear categories with wording that matches the destination page. W3C guidance recommends organizing content into logical sections and building the main menu from important categories (W3C navigation design). Test labels without surrounding context: “Services” or “Pricing” is easier to predict than an internal company phrase.
Follow every primary link and one level of submenu. Check for duplicates, dead ends, unexpected external destinations, and pages that require guessing which parent category applies. If the site is deep, review breadcrumbs, a sitemap, or search as alternate routes rather than forcing every destination into one large menu.
Verify semantic structure and orientation
W3C's menu tutorial recommends semantic list markup, identifying navigation with the `nav` element, labeling menus when multiple regions exist, and indicating the current page (W3C menu structure). Inspect the rendered accessibility structure, not only the visual design. A menu that looks correct can still be difficult to interpret if its relationships and names are missing.
Confirm that the current section or page has a clear visual and non-visual cue. Check header, footer, sidebar, and utility navigation separately so repeated labels do not become ambiguous. A visitor arriving from search should be able to understand the page's place in the site without returning to the homepage.
Test mouse, keyboard, touch, and zoom
Use the navigation with a mouse, then repeat with the keyboard. Focus must remain visible, movement should follow a sensible order, and a submenu must open and close without trapping focus. Test touch targets on a narrow screen and at enlarged text or zoom settings. W3C navigation design material specifically calls for menu interactions that account for mouse, keyboard, touch, and speech, and layouts that adapt to different text and screen sizes.
Compare desktop and mobile versions. W3C's menu structure guidance says items that remain visible should keep the same order, wording, and destination across screen sizes. If mobile navigation omits a secondary route, confirm that the route remains available another way.
Exercise real visitor journeys
Choose several realistic tasks, such as finding hours, comparing services, reading a policy, or contacting the business. Start from the homepage, a deep article, and an error page. Record the route taken, confusing labels, unnecessary backtracking, and whether the visitor can recover from a wrong choice.
Finish with a short defect list ordered by impact: unreachable pages first, then broken or misleading labels, keyboard failures, missing orientation cues, and cosmetic inconsistencies. Re-run the same journeys after changes so the review proves that navigation improved rather than merely changed.
Sources
- Menu Structure — W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
- Navigation Design — W3C Web Accessibility Initiative