[Sigia-l] length of nav labels

[Thomas Voirol]

> From: "Jared M. Spool" <jspool at uie.com>
> 
> They tell us they love how easy it is to find things. How 
> well organized the home page is. And how the home page is not 
> "cluttered". (Yup -- the users of this site believe that 
> other designs are far more cluttered than this one. Isn't that nifty?)
> 
> Keep in mind, this is *not* a consumer site. It's a site for 
> people steeped in the commercial construction and building 
> maintenance industries. The users of this site have very 
> different needs than someone shopping at a Home Depot.

I can understand that the users in question would call the Grainger site
more "cluttered" than the McMaster one. I suggest it has to do with the fact
that McMaster is simply a dump of the entire product range. You can reach
many of almost half a million products in just two clicks. Grainger on the
other hand has more classic sales pitch stuff on their homepage (Features,
Today's features). To get to a product you go
click-wait-click-wait-click-wait-click through the hierarchy.

What I dislike about McMaster is that there is a single level of hierarchy
and then a great big dump of product types. For example:

--

Fastening and Sealing

Wood Screws . Sheet Metal Screws . Self-Drilling Screws . Drywall Screws .
Machine Screws . Thumb Screws . Shoulder Screws . Panel Screws . Set Screws
. Socket Head Cap Screws . Cap Screws . Bolts . Threaded Studs . Threaded
Rods . Thread-Cutting Screws . Thread-Forming Screws . Acme Threaded Nuts .
Acme Threaded Rods . Acme Threaded Studs . Nuts . Washers . Shims . Binding
Screws . Spacers . Standoffs . Retaining Rings . Captive Fasteners . Helical
Inserts . Threaded Inserts . Tee Nuts . Nut Inserts . Rivet Nuts . Pins .
Machine Keys . Rivets . Blind Rivets and Tools . Anchors . Nails . Nailers .
Staplers . Staples . Welding Equipment . Pressure Regulators . Welding Hose
and Cylinders . Propane Torches . Soldering Equipment . Brazing Alloys .
Epoxy and Urethane Adhesives . Super Glues . Thread Sealants . Gasket
Sealants and Adhesives . Silicones . Construction Adhesives . Contact
Cements . Hot Melts . Adhesive Dispensing Tools . Electrical and Repair Tape
. Carton Sealing Tape . Masking and Specialty Tape . Foil Tape . Duct Tape .
Foam Tape . Hook and Loop . Seals . Gaskets . O-Rings . Compression Packing
. Ring Seals

--

Even if you know that what you need is "binding screws" (as I assume the
typical McMaster user would), you have to read through this sea of words
containing a lot of other types of screws until you locate them on the
fourth line.

I'd be interested to hear your opinions how a site would perform which would
combine the benefits of both Grainger and McMaster. Take the 3+ levels of
hierarchy of Grainger. Display 2 levels on the home page and a click on a
level 2 term would trigger some DHTML to reveal level 3 (i.e. not requiring
a server round-trip). Allows for the "drill down" of Grainger combined with
the sheer speed of McMaster.

Tom

PS: Maybe it's the way the McMaster homepage looks like one of those
PageRank-boosting pseudo-content pages that rubs me the wrong way.