Pattern 24: Site logo at top left **
AKA:

You have developed a SITE MAP (12) but users visit sites other than yours. Channel switching between different site layouts causes cognitive dissonance and extra work. Therefore you FOLLOW STANDARDS (36). Users need to know that they can always GO BACK TO A SAFE PLACE (34) and may not be able to rely on the BACK BUTTON (35) to do this. A prominent logo will also support a user’s SENSE OF LOCATION (15).

How do I know which site I am currently on? How do I know what will happen when I click on the site logo. How can I always get back to the site’s home page?

Therefore

Follow the standard. Place you logo at the top left of every page. Clicking on the logo always takes you home. No time is spent looking around for the home button. Spend time thinking up a good tag line.

Fit the logo into the NAVIGATION BAR (25), within the home page’s THREE-REGION LAYOUT (26). Avoid making the user a PRISONER OF WAR (37).

Since most sites place their logo at the top left of every page and use it as a link to their home page, users come to expect this. It is guaranteed to be visible when a page loads and even when a user arrives from a search engine she will know whose site she is on. Therefore follow the standard. The logo on the home page can be larger than on other pages and may have a tag line. The tag line needs to be chosen carefully because it must differentiate and characterize you enterprise without naming it. Among the best ones we’ve seen we’ll mention BabyCenter who use the phrase ‘cradle and all’, which seems to sum up what they sell very well. The trouble is that thinking up such a phrase is very difficult.

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