Interface Core C · Industry convention

Navigation Bar

A navigation bar groups the main page links and shows which page is open now.

Try an example
You might call it navbarprimary navigation

Try an example

Navigation Bar

A real example

The bar shows Docs, Examples, and Pricing, with the current page made easy to spot.

Main parts

  1. 01Current location
  2. 02Destination labels
  3. 03Focus order
  4. 04Responsive behavior

Use it when

Use it for a small, steady set of top-level pages.

Do not use it when

Never squeeze every feature and tool into one horizontal row.

Name used in code

<nav aria-label="Primary">

Before you ship

Before release, check the page structure, keyboard access, visible focus, contrast, and zoom. Also check loading, empty, error, success, cancel, and reduced-motion states.

Request you can copy

Outcome: Use Navigation Bar to solve this user need without losing the current context. User context: The bar shows Docs, Examples, and Pricing, with the current page made easy to spot. Recommended pattern: Navigation Bar. Why it fits: Use it for a small, steady set of top-level pages. Do not use it when: Never squeeze every feature and tool into one horizontal row. Product requirements: Define the default, loading, empty, error, success, and recovery states. Keep user input. Give clear feedback after every action. Accessibility and resilience: Use semantic HTML, full keyboard access, and visible focus. Make the layout work when zoomed and support reduced motion. Follow the project’s current rules. Do not add a new UI library unless the project already uses it. Acceptance criteria: The main task works with keyboard only and at 320px width. Focus and status changes are announced. Check loading, failure, retry, cancel, and reduced-motion paths. Evidence and limits (evidence boundary): No single official standard controls the whole term. Its meaning may change across teams, platforms, or frameworks. Unknowns to confirm: Product wording, data source, analytics events, supported devices and languages, and platform limits.

Check this request

Review the current use of Navigation Bar. Definition: A navigation bar groups the main page links and shows which page is open now. Release checks: Before release, check the page structure, keyboard access, visible focus, contrast, and zoom. Also check loading, empty, error, success, cancel, and reduced-motion states. Before changing code, report the evidence you found, gaps, severity, and the smallest safe fix.

C
How official is this term?

Industry convention

People often use this term at work. The listed sources may support practice or limitations. They do not define every part of the term.

No single official standard controls the whole term. Its meaning may change across teams, platforms, or frameworks.

Scope
Web navigation convention
Document status
living standard
Checked on
2026-07-30

Evidence sources & scope

Authority source · WHATWG · living standard HTML: Sections Sections Scope: HTML sectioning and heading semantics Role here: Helpful background, not a definition Source covers: canonical name, definition, semantics, implementation

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