CLEAR MAIN NAVIGATION
People need to be able to get around your site easily, and the best way to allow them to do so is through clear main navigation tabs. These are the “Home,” “Recipes,” and “About” buttons that point people in the direction they need to go. One common way to do these is a horizontal bar of tabs across the top of the page. I have also seen sites who use a left-side, vertical navigation box, which is also an option. The main navigation tabs simply need to be always present, and always clearly visible.
SEARCH BOX
If people are looking for something in particular, a “Blackberry Jam Recipe,” for example, they need a direct way of finding it without having to browse through the entire site. This is where a search box comes into play. People need to be able to search by keyword and by ingredient, so they can get to what they’re looking for easily. Have a search box in a clearly visible place on your site, again, toward the top or high on one of the sidebars is a good option.
Here is how we organize our main navigation, search box, social media links and email list opt-in on fastPaleo.