Menu structure for a travel site

**d29** · 07-23-2006, 05:42 AM

Hello,
I'm having trouble thinking of an optimum menu structure for a country travel site I'm currently in the process of building. My current menu structure is:

Information:
* facts
* location
* people
* prices
* security
* visas
* weather
Business:
* banks
* real estate
* stock market
Cities:
* city 1
* city 2
* etc.
Currency
Destinations:
* d1
* d2
* etc.
Food
Hotels
Language
Maps
Regions:
* r1
* r2
* etc.
Store
Tips
Transportation:
* roads
* flight
* car rental
* railways
Video Gallery

This is the menu that I plan to have when launching the site. I also plan to add the following afterwards:

Photo Gallery - I'd have added this one from the start but I lack content. I don't think I'll have problems getting photos once my site will be up and running for a few months, but it is a problem right now. Anyone knows where I could get quality travel photos without infringing on any copyrights?
Drinks
Restaurants
Sports
Tours
Travelogues/Journals

I'd be delighted to read any posts from you on how could I further improve my current menu structure. Do you find it confusing? Do you think that "Currency" should actually be a sub-menu of "Business, etc.?

I guess this is the most appropriate forum here for this kind of post.

Thanks in advance,
David

**Tran** · 07-23-2006, 05:52 AM

Hmm have you checked @ other travel related websites on their structure?

**d29** · 07-23-2006, 06:14 AM

I've checked a couple and all of them have quite confusing (at least for me) menu structures. Especially when it comes to structuring the country's attractions. I chose to structure them in: cities, destinations (e.g.: lakes) and regions. I'm wondering whether a better way to do this exists. So far I've not found one through the travel sites I've browsed and thus me asking here about the menu structure.

**Tran** · 07-23-2006, 07:07 AM

Have you tried like major cities and how they structure their menus.. i.e. vegas.com

**d29** · 07-23-2006, 08:02 AM

I've looked through travel guides. Cities aren't of much help since mine's a country site.

Thanks for trying to help though. :yes:

**essjay** · 07-23-2006, 04:39 PM

I think you've over complicated the whole thing. I'd be interested on how you could have such a big menu system actually working well on a site, I don't think its possible. In my experience people are usually focused on one thing when they go to sites like this, and that would be destination. presumably some of the other categories have destination specific features, especially hotels restaraunts etc. Also, your wording is a bit confusing, surely everything would at some stage come under information?

I'd simplify it, alot. just go for country level information and then information about specific areas, preferably reached through an accessible map. As users dig deeper into the site, more info about the country is revealed and it gradually gets more specific. That way, instead of having to go destinations -> destination 1 (oh I like the look of this, lets find out about a hotel) Hotels -> search destiantions again (oh lets have a look at some places to eat around here) Food -> search for the destination again etc. they would just go to the destination and all the info would be there. Its a more natural hypermedia navigation model.