APL : Breaking with convention

The risk in playing with a convention as well established as the top navigation bar can pay off.

The Site

APL, Advanced Production and Loading, is a Norwegian specialist technology company in the offshore production and transport industry. Its website mixes company news and background with product information and documentation.

Although the site is quite simple, most of the pages require scrolling to view or read all the content. Unusually, the universal menu is on the left of the page template rather than running horizontally across the top. But as users move down a page, the mouseover menu in the left-hand panel automatically migrates to reposition itself in the top corner of the screen. Sub-sections are reached via dropdown menus that are generated when the cursor is placed over a link.

The Takeaway

Innovative companies are right to want an unusual look to their websites. On the other hand, they are taking a risk playing with a convention as well established as the top navigation bar. It is a bit like deciding to put the pedals in a car in a different position: there may be good reasons, but would your customers agree?

APL’s floating navigation gets away with it, however. It is certainly unusual, and it has the clear advantage of being effective on long pages – something that defeats the conventional layout. Could it become a convention in its own right? Possible, though the current trend is towards less technology and greater simplicity – largely because of concerns over accessibility for the visually-impaired. While it appears that APL follows accessibility guidelines (it is possible to navigate without using the dropdown menus, for example), the system has a certain ‘fussiness’ that will put many designers and site owners off. For the moment at least.

First published on 02 November, 2004