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Sahl Tuesday,16 Dec 2025

Navigating an online store is supposed to help customers quickly find what they're looking for. However, in many stores, navigation becomes a real obstacle, confusing customers and causing them to leave without buying anything. The problem often lies in the presence of menus, or rather, their sheer number, complexity, or poor organization. In this blog post, we'll explain when and why navigation becomes a problem, and how to recognize when your store has reached this stage without you even realizing it.

1. When the number of categories exceeds the customer's eye capacity

If a customer opens the main menu and sees:

Many categories
Overlapping classifications
Similar names

This is where the confusion begins.

The human mind prefers a limited number of options, and when the options become excessive, the customer, instead of choosing… stops altogether.

2. Excessive branching menus kill decision-making speed

The menu you need is:
Home → Category → Classification → Subcategory → Product
This often leaves the customer lost.

Especially on mobile, too many branches make the customer feel like they're in a maze, not a store.

And every extra click equals a greater chance of leaving.

3. When department names are unclear

Some stores use overly "smart" or marketing-driven names, such as:

Your Daily Solutions
Our Picks
Comfort World

But the customer doesn't want to solve a puzzle… they want to know quickly:

Are there clothes here? Electronics? Accessories?

The ambiguity in the titles makes navigation an obstacle instead of a guide.

4. Navigation that competes with the product page

If the main menu or top bar is full of prominent elements and strong colors, it competes with the page content itself.

Instead of focusing on:

The product
The price
The purchase button

You'll find the customer aimlessly navigating between menus.

Here, navigation pulls attention instead of guiding it.

5. The difference in navigation experience between mobile and desktop

Many stores optimize navigation for computers… and forget about mobile.

In Saudi Arabia, a large percentage of purchases are made via mobile. 6. If mobile navigation is:

Slow
Requires a lot of scrolling
Or menus pop up and disappear
The customer gets frustrated quickly and leaves, even if the product is excellent.

7. When the customer has to think to navigate

The best navigation is the one you don't notice.

The moment the customer starts thinking:

“Should I go here? Or here?”

You know there's a problem.

Good navigation is intuitive, clear, and doesn't require explanation or demonstration.

8. Too many links on a single page

Some product pages are full of links:

Categories
Similar products
Offers
Articles

This turns the page into a transit point instead of a decision point.

The customer scrolls a lot… but doesn't buy.

9. How do you know if navigation is becoming a problem for you?

Look for these signs:

Short browsing time
Quick exits from pages
Many visits without adding to the cart
Random navigation between sections

This is often not a product problem… but a navigation problem.

9. How can you address the problem without complicating the store?

Reduce the number of main sections.

Use clear and direct names.

Place the most important sections at the top.

Simplify submenus.

Test mobile navigation first.

Let navigation support the purchase decision, not distract the customer.

Sometimes removing one item from the menu has a greater impact than adding ten.

Navigation within the store is a double-edged sword. If it's simple and clear, it serves the customer and leads them to purchase. If it's complicated or cluttered, it becomes a silent obstacle that costs you sales without you even realizing it. Observe your store through the eyes of a new customer and ask yourself: Does the navigation help me… or does it confuse me? If you'd like, I can send you new titles, or we can continue this series step by step.