Lesson 1: Audit Navigation Like a Visitor

Your portfolio is not finished just because the Home page exists.

A visitor needs to know where they are, where they can go next, and how to return. If the visitor has to ask you what to click, the navigation is not doing its job yet.

Today you will test the portfolio from the outside.

Navigation is a system

A navigation system has three jobs:

• name the major sections clearly;
• connect those sections with working links; and
• give the visitor a way to recover when they land somewhere unexpected.

A link can technically work and still be weak. For example, a link called click here does not explain where it goes. A link called Projects gives the visitor a prediction before they click.

Think in visitor tasks

Do not test only by clicking whatever looks interesting.

Create visitor tasks such as:

Find the About/Profile section.
Return from Projects to Home.
Find the image-enhancement evidence from Week 1.
Open the presentation draft.

A good navigation test starts with a goal. Then you observe whether the site helps the visitor complete that goal.

Lab 1: Run a three-task navigation audit

Open your portfolio or approved local equivalent.

Create a table with these columns:

Run at least three tasks.

Use your actual portfolio. If you do not have a public site, use the assigned local or classroom-only version.

Common failures

Watch for these problems:

• a page has no way back to Home;
• two links use different names for the same section;
• the link text is vague;
• a link points to the wrong page;
• a page title and navigation label disagree; or
• future sections appear active even though they have no content yet.

Do not hide a broken section by saying, "I know what I meant." The site has to communicate without you.

Repair one issue

Choose one problem from the audit and repair it.

Good repairs include:

• renaming a vague link;
• adding a return link;
• matching the page title to the navigation label;
• removing a fake active link; or
• adding a short placeholder note that says what will be added later.

A placeholder is acceptable only when it tells the truth. Do not pretend finished work exists.

Evidence checkpoint

Your evidence is ready when it includes:

• three visitor tasks;
• the expected path for each task;
• the actual result;
• one repair you made; and
• one sentence explaining why the repair helps a visitor.

The claim is not "my portfolio is perfect."

The claim is:

I tested navigation with defined visitor tasks and repaired one observed problem.

That is stronger because it is backed by evidence.