Menu labels: words visitors understand at a glance

Key takeaways

Good navigation menu labels use the words buyers use, lead with the most important term, stay short and mean one thing. 'Boiler repair' beats 'Solutions'; 'Fees' beats 'Investment'. Collect customer language from enquiries and search queries, write labels from it, then test them with first-click tests before you publish.

• Use the words customers use in enquiries and searches.
• Lead with the key word: 'Kitchen fitting', not 'Our fitting services'.
• One to three words per top-level label is usually enough.
• Test labels with first-click tests before going live.

What makes a good menu label?

A good menu label tells visitors exactly what is behind it, in words they already use, and is different enough from its neighbours that they never have to choose between two similar options. Nielsen Norman Group's menu-design guidance recommends labels that are familiar, specific and front-loaded with the information-carrying word.

• Specific: names the service, topic or task.
• Familiar: uses customer, not internal, language.
• Front-loaded: the key word comes first.
• Distinct: no two labels could mean the same thing.
• Short: scannable in a glance.

• How clear website navigation improves user experience
• Information scent: why visitors lose the trail on your site

Where do you find buyers' words?

Buyers' words are in the places they describe their problem to you: enquiry emails, call notes, reviews, Search Console queries and site search terms. Note the exact phrases. If customers say 'loft conversion' and your menu says 'Roof space solutions', the menu should change.

• Site search data: what visitors type tells you
• Mental models: navigation that matches how buyers think

Which labels cause most confusion?

Vague, internal and overlapping labels cause most confusion. 'Solutions', 'Resources' and 'Insights' tell visitors nothing. Department names and product codes mean something only inside the business. Pairs such as 'Services' and 'What we do' force visitors to guess which holds what they need.

• Mystery meat navigation: icons and labels visitors miss

How do you test menu labels?

Run a first-click test: show people the menu, give them a task such as 'find the price of a boiler service', and record where they click first. If most pick the right label, it works. A card sort helps earlier, by showing how customers group and name your content before you write labels.

• First-click testing: is the first step the right one?
• Card sorting: let customers organise your website

Do labels matter for accessibility and SEO?

Yes. WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6, Headings and Labels, asks for labels that describe their purpose. Screen reader users often move through a page by its links, so each must make sense alone. Google uses link text to understand target pages, so specific labels also help search.

• Does website navigation affect SEO?

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a building firm's menu reads 'Home', 'Solutions', 'Sectors', 'Insights', 'Connect'. Rewriting it as 'Extensions', 'Loft conversions', 'Renovations', 'Projects', 'Contact', from the words in their enquiry emails, makes every service visible without adding an item.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Menu label checklist

• Collect customer phrases from enquiries and searches.
• Replace vague labels with specific ones.
• Put the key word first.
• Remove overlapping pairs.
• Keep top-level labels to one to three words.
• First-click test before publishing.

• The services menu: how to list what you sell
• Consistent wording: call each thing by one name

Next step

Read your menu aloud to someone outside the business and ask what they expect behind each label.