So you’ve built a website, but you’re wondering, “What Are Website Breadcrumbs?” First of all, what are website breadcrumbs? This is a question many web designers are asked by knowledge-hungry clients. Breadcrumbs are navigational aids on websites that guide users to specific pages by following links to previous pages. While the design of these links should be simple and unobtrusive, they should also be consistent with the rest of the website so that they don’t draw unnecessary attention to themselves.
A website’s breadcrumbs are the links at the top of a page, typically below the global navigation. A breadcrumb trail will guide you through the site’s hierarchy. Breadcrumbs will show you how to navigate different website areas and where you have been.
The biggest benefit of website breadcrumbs is that they help users navigate through the site and they also aid search engines in interpreting your site’s structure, allowing them to better index the content of different pages. Having breadcrumbs is not a requirement for all websites, however. Websites with a hierarchy of pages and categories should use them. These include shopping websites, digital agencies, and blogs that offer opinions on various topics.