Breadcrumbs – What are they and what are they for?

In the story of Hansel and Grettel, Hansel leaves some breadcrumbs while walking through the forest with his sister and then finds his way back home.

And although in this case the move does not go as expected because some birds eat the crumbs, it is a good idea to borrow web design so that the user browsing a website does not get lost and knows where he is at all times.

But breadcrumbs on a website are not only useful for improving the user experience, they also help Google better understand the structure of the site.

Índice

  1. What are breadcrumbs?
  2. What are breadcrumbs used for?
  3. What advantages do breadcrumbs have?

What are breadcrumbs?

 

Breadcrumbs are a navigation element used on websites to show the path or hierarchical structure of a page within a site. They are called breadcrumbs because they function similarly to crumbs left on the ground to mark a path back.

The breadcrumbs are usually located at the top of a webpage, just below the main navigation bar. They consist of a series of text links indicating the location of the current page in relation to the main page or category page.

For example, if you’re browsing an e-commerce website and you’re on a specific product page, breadcrumbs can display something like “Home > Category > Subcategory > Product,” where each item along the way is a link that takes you to the page. Allows you to easily return to a previous page.

What are breadcrumbs used for?

Breadcrumbs are especially useful on websites with complex or deep structures, as they give users a clear way to navigate back and stay oriented within the site. They can also improve usability and user experience by providing a visual reference to the current location within the context of the site.

But not only that. In addition, breadcrumbs are also a clear clue for search engines to understand the structure and hierarchies of a website, which favors the site at the level of organic positioning or SEO.

What advantages do breadcrumbs have?

Some of the main advantages of breadcrumbs are:

  • They improve the user experience,  facilitating navigation and orientation within the website.

  • They improve the internal link structure of the website,  providing search engines with extra information and distributing the link juice correctly.

  • They improve the appearance of your search results,  as Google includes direct links to some of the categories in its results.