Written retrospectively for the 2004 archive.

Make a homepage, an About page, and a Links page. Give each the same three navigation links in the same order. A reader should be able to move between the pages without having to learn a new menu each time.

Now add a short note to each page indicating where the reader is. Keep the menu labels steady so the heading can do the work of telling the reader what they’ve opened.

Try opening the Links page directly, as if someone sent you its address. You should still be able to tell what site you’re on and how to get to the homepage. That test is useful when a site was designed around visitors entering through its front door.