Home Sweet Home

During QA testing of a recently launched site, we got one of these comments:

The “Home” icon should be the first icon listed at the top of all the pages instead of “Books” being the first icon.

I do understand that top left and most prominent is where site visitors expect to see a HOME button, and I respect the comfort and reassurance of things being where we expect them to be. And to some extent, as an interface and information designer, I have to cater to that expectation. But when considering strategy of ROI in terms of actual sales, I disagree with this placement as an absolute. I like to refer back to ultimate website goals. For authors, for instance, I want people to go to the BOOKS page, and sometimes that means that HOME goes elsewhere.

HOME should never be hard to find, of course. It is never hidden, this is a given, just sometimes shifted to the end of the navigation set list, perhaps, or set off in a secondary, more administrative (vs. meaty content) navigation set (HOME, CONTACT, SITE, etc). This is actually a calculated move. It’s one thing to cater to the whims and expectations of your site visitors, but the underlying function of the site is that it works for you, meaning it promotes sales (or whatever else you are promoting).

Put your product button in the most looked for spot. Then make sure that HOME is very clear, since there is no place like it.