AG2R La Mondiale : Showing all seeing less

Extended menus are the wrong fit.

The Site

AG2R La Mondiale, a French insurance company, assures partial exposure for its section navigation by setting it out in full.

AG2R La Mondiale sets out its primary navigation bar horizontally in conventional fashion below a deep publicity banner, with a click on any of the eight headings launching the respective section on the page below. The section menu is not previewed on mouseover or click but is set out in the left-hand column in full. Sub-sections (secondary level headings) are highlighted in bold type with a bullet-point prefix; tertiary level headings, where present, are listed below their respective headings in regular type and indented, again with a bullet prefix. Current location is indicated by colour highlighting of the corresponding secondary and tertiary headings, and by a breadcrumb trail running immediately below the primary bar.

In two major sections, Groupe and Recrutement, the left navigation menu extends beyond the visible screen, so that scrolling is demanded to review the full range of the content.

The Takeaway

AG2R has chosen a template for its site that naturally requires more scrolling to browse content through a combination of (white) spaced out design, ‘rich footers’ and a deep top banner. It pushes the already expanded envelope, however, in opting for static section navigation displays that trigger the need to scroll.

While some corporate sites have made a fashionable move in this general direction, it is an approach that lends itself more to grazing content than previewing it. Navigation menus, on the other hand, are primarily an aid to the latter, and so should be in view at all times for optimum usability; in two sections AG2R consciously slows things down and risks users overlooking topics with no obvious overriding counter-benefit. Tightening up the menus with a standard expandable bar is easy to implement and would not compromise the template choice while providing a more effective guide.

First published on 20 July, 2010