[Sigia-l] length of nav labels

[Boniface Lau]

> From: Jared M. Spool
>  
> Basically, we learned a long time ago that the most effective links
> are typically 7 to 12 words in length. 

Do you have a hypothesis on the 7-12 range? 

I wonder whether that range depends on context. For example, would the
most effective navigation bar links have a different range than that
of the most effective content links?


> The important thing is that you have the right *trigger* word in
> that 7-12 mix. (Taking a five-word link and adding "click here"
> doesn't make it any better.)

Yes. For navigation bar links, I would go as far as saying that having
the right trigger words is much more important than sticking to the
7-12 range. Thus, a one-word link that is a trigger word would be much
more effective than padding it to a 7-word length with non-trigger
words (be they "click here" or not).

Furthermore, sticking to the 7-12 range would make most of navigation
bar links wrapped. That would also lengthen a vertical bar and make it
more likely to push some links off the screen.


> 
> Wrote more about trigger words here: (Free)
> 
> >The Right Trigger Words
> >http://www.uie.com/articles/trigger_words/

That article includes a redesigned Analog Devices page which tested
very well with users. But a quick glance of the redesigned page
revealed that only one out of the 60+ links falls into the 7-12 range.


Boniface