BBC News is soon, amongst other things, to abandon left-hand navigation. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2010/07/bbc_news_website_redesign.html

I’m really interested in the demise of left-hand navigation. When it was originally introduced, it was pretty difficult for people to get around websites. We didn’t have JavaScript and page includes and content management systems. This meant that to do anything sophisticated, each page would have to be hand-crafted, which was a lot of work. The first way we got around the problem, was by using frames. These allowed web  developers to put the navigation in one frame, and then a single navigation file could be used for a whole section of pages. But frames are not accessible. This was abandoned in favour of page includes. This allowed a single navigation file to be included on every page, but without the problems of frames. Finally, content management systems meant that menu systems could be included in the template (including DreamWeaver templates and library items).

But surely with the improved processing power of servers and improved interface design applications (such as DreamWeaver) we can produce better navigation. Wouldn’t it be great if navigation was contextual and you just saw the navigation relevant for the page you’re on. If I’m in a department store, I don’t want to see the sign for the whole floor on every aisle, just at the lifts and escalators. I just want to know where I am, what’s around me, and where I can go to see the full floor plan.

Hopefully the new BBC News navigation is a step to a more user-friendly navigation system.