Good Labels Are...

1. Descriptive

Clearly describe where the user is going next. A good way to come up with descriptive labels is to mimic search words your audience might type to locate your information.

2. Short

Keep it simple. Primary navigation should not have more than 6-7 links - tops! from Carmen Mardiros

Make labels as succinct as possible. A "...common mistake is to use ten dollar words (Career Opportunities), when two dollars words (Jobs) will do just fine. The object of this name game is to make the label as immediate and unambiguous as possible, every time." from Bravozulu.com

3. Easy to understand

Write label names that are understandable by the reader. Avoid obscure or ambiguous language, especially language that is meaningful internally but not outside of the organization. "For example, Disney refers to its employees as "cast members", however someone outside of the company should not be expected to recognize this. Therefore, on Disney's Web site (www.disney.com) a link to employment information shouldn't be titled "Join Our Cast", in an effort to spread Disney's culture to unsuspecting users." from GDOSS.com

4. Intuitive and familiar

Why? So users don't even have to think about it! You only have a few seconds to grab their attention.

"Using recognizable conventions in a design/redesign not only makes visitors feel comfortable and confident with a navigation plan, it allows them to move through the site to explore the content instead of the layout." Labels such as: About Us, Contact Us, News & Events, Services, Support are recognizable labels.

5. Consistent

"Just as users rely on navigational systems to be positioned on a page consistently and look the same throughout the site, they rely on their labels to work in a consistent, familiar way. Effectively applied labels are integral to building this sense of familiarity, so they'd better not change from page to page. That's why using the label Main, on one page, Main Page on another, and Home elsewhere will surely destroy the familiarity that the user needs when navigating a site." From Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville.

Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville stress consistency in granularity as well as terminology. "Consistent granularity means two things: 1) that the chunks of information represented at each level of labels are roughly of equal importance, and 2) that the levels of labels don't vary greatly in how deeply they cover parts of a site."

http://www.broadwaybankchicago.com/home/index.htm

http://redclayinteractive.com/

http://www.timberland.com/