Markup Tools for Navigation

Navigation Guidelines

simplicity and redundancy
- avoid confusing, convoluted tables, forms, and layouts
- provide multiple ways to convey information.
simplify pages as much as possible
- do not require deaf-blind individuals to read extraneous or irrelevant content.
- keyboard access to web sites is paramount
"well-designed"
- simple and intuitive interface
- clearly worded text
- consistent navigational scheme between pages
provide a way for the end-user to skip over long lists of links
make sure that your site is accessible via keyboard.

anchors
if you have long lists of links on your page, you should provide a link at the beginning to an anchor (#) later in the page to allow users to skip past navigation to the content.
the "tabindex" attribute
allows you to specify a positive integer, indicating the order in which page elements will receive focus. Again, there are some guidelines to follow.

Steer clear from navigation that requires extensive use of JavaScript, Java, Flash, or CSS:

JavaScript-driven redirects
JavaScript events such as onchange for pull-down menus that automatically perform actions (e.g. form submission).
Some users must step through lists and cannot select the desired option in one "click."