Global "Home" Link
Data below are from 75 leading e-commerce sites, collected in 2002 by Heidi Adkisson and in 2006 and 2007 by KCC|NMA students. We examined the exact same sites that Heidi Adkisson studied in 2002.
Presentation of Home Link
All sites provided some type of global link to home using one of four methods:
| Data Comparison: | 2002 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logo linked to Home only | 19% | 46% | 49% | 64% | |
| Logo linked to Home plus Home link at top of page | 60% | 39% | 36% | 17% | |
| Logo linked to Home plus Home link in footer | 13% | 11% | 11% | 15% | |
| Logo linked to first-level product category | 8% | 3% | 0% | 3% | |
| Logo not linked | 0% | 1% | 4% | 1% |
Location of Logo Linked to Home
| Data Comparison: | 2002 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Left | 100% | 94% | 94% | 99% | |
| Top Center | 0% | 3% | 3% | 0% | |
| Top Right | 0% | 3% | 3% | 1% |
In our research conducted in 2006, 2007, and 2008 our Global "Home" link locations were plotted on a 1000 by 800 pixel grid.
2008:
2007:
2006:
In Heidi Adkisson's study conducted in 2002, location was plotted on an 800 by 600 pixel grid. See her plotting locations for more details.
2002:
By comparing the visual plot charts, you can see that the majority of the global home links are found in the top left, but there is are an increasing number of sites a greater number that have their global "home" links in other parts of the page other than the top left. Another difference that you will note is that we chose not to adhere to a strict grid for plotting location. We found that by breaking this rule we were able to plot more accurate home link locations.