The influence of spatial ability on the use of web sitemaps

One challenge confronting web site designers is to provide effective navigational support. Supplemental navigation tools such as sitemaps are frequently included on web sites to support navigation. However, there is a lack of empirically based guidelines for designers of such tools. This paper reports an empirical investigation into the factors influencing the decision by users to select sitemaps or search tools. The study establishes a relationship between the user's level of spatial ability and their tendency to select Web sitemaps providing a basis for the design of further investigations into the usability and design of such tools.