Trail Menu

Problem

User need to find information in a hierarchical structure.

Solution

Show the traversed path in the menu

From www.clearinghouse.net/

Use when

The site has a shallow structure, typically up to 5 or 6 levels, while the number of items on each level are numerous.

How

This leads to a kind of Breadcrumbs but then integrated with the menu itself. The path can be shown horizontal or vertical. Each item of the path is a link that takes users back to that level.

Why

This type of navigation is a mix between a breadcrumb and menus. It consumes very little space and allows for the display of many items on a particular level.

More Examples

The Ferrari site uses a horizontal variant that keeps the last two levels in sight.

Here is another horizontal example from Siematic, a true combination of a Breadcrumbs and Fly-out Menu.

Comments

0 comments have been added to this pattern