A parent page is a main, general topic in a website hierarchy. It organizes related child pages and normally appears as a top-level menu item. When visitors hover over it, its child pages can appear in a submenu. section 3.3.1 section 3.3.5
Use parent pages to keep a site easy to scan and navigate:
- Plan the topics first, then group specific child pages beneath broader parent pages. section 3.3.1
- Keep the main menu brief—usually no more than five or six parent pages unless additional items are necessary for navigation. section 3.3.1 section 3.3.5
- Give each parent page a short, descriptive name and avoid repeating the site title in menu labels. section 3.3.5
- Avoid grandchildren pages when possible because deeper levels can make navigation confusing. section 3.3.1
- Use a sitemap or search tool alongside the menu when visitors need to locate highly specific information. section 3.3.7
Fishing-site hierarchy
A fishing site might use Lures and About Us as parent pages. Lures could contain Crankbaits, Spinnerbaits, Topwater Lures, and Buzzbaits; About Us could contain Our History and Future Plans. A larger bass-fishing menu might include News, Tournaments, Rankings, Tips & Techniques, Forums, and Gear, but pruning it to about six parent items would keep the menu manageable. section 3.3.1 section 3.3.2
