The importance of a navigation structure is crucial. Without some navigation a website loses all sense of structure and organisation. It is important to allow access to the rest of your site from anywhere on the website. You should be able to visit a web page within 2 clicks ideally. With a main or a home page accessible in one. Having a navigation bar ensures the reader that there is lots to see and do. Every page should have a link back to your home page, this is the most essential on a website. If a website is set up right, it should be the central hub after they are all linked up. If you use a logo, the most common known place to put it, is in the top left hand corner.
A breadcrumb trail is a row of links that show how a website is structured. Mostly at the top of a page, because if they make an error, it is easy to go to the top of a page and its always there. This helps when someone arrives on a page deep in your site from a search engine and has no idea where they are in relation to the rest of the site. Most popular sites are the ones that are the most simple, the reader wants to know what your offering, not see loads of emotions. You can still personalise your webpage, but not to much so the reader wants to get straight off it. Familiarity is the key word here. If the site has a familiar feel to it, the users can be more sure of what they are doing. They feel safe clicking on links, knowing that something unexpected won't happen.
They get the feeling of control. The side navigation bar isn't the only navigation structure, you can use a row of links along the top. If multiple sites use it, you can feel pretty safe if you decide to design your own website around this. Most people change the settings on a website, the key is too leave it to your readers default settings. Changing settings confuses people.
Design simple colour schemes and don't underline text when there isn't a link, it confuses people and they wont return. Make sure you keep your theme steady all the way through the website, don't change it, keep it simple and make it look effective. When a user moves pages they shouldn't have to work out how to navigate the next page.
