Case Studies Number Eight--starbucks.com:Navigation

There are two navigation systems on the home page and some of the labels are not make sense to me. The primary navigation system appears to be more prominent than the secondary because of its position. The primary navigation is located on the top of the home page which indicates its importance. The site was designed in this way since the primary navigation contains information that users are more concerned than the secondary.

When I visit further levels of the site, additional navigation systems appear。 However, the primary and the secondary navigation stay consistently on every page in the site. I can tell the additional element is navigation since it contains links that are lined up and each of them represents either a section or a group of content.Navigation systems on the home page

Navigation systems on other pages of the site

Once I click one of the navigation links, it is highlighted and a arrow points to the link that users visited. The purpose of highlighting visited links is to show users where they are in the site (location indicator).

I always know where I am within the architecture of the site. Since the side navigation has labels indicating subsection, by looking at both primary and side navigation, I can tell which section I am in. It is not that obvious to me how to go back to the home page. However, after a few try, I figure out how to get back to the home by clicking the Starbucks' logo. I think it would be a problem for users that are not familiar with the Internet or users do not have much patience to try things out. They may simply leave the site if they cannot figure out things they want.