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Usually I see that every website put their breadcrumb on the top, but apple put their breadcrumb on the bottom before the footer.

enter image description here

Does that work better than when we put it on the top?

1 Answer 1

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TL;DR: Top, or both.


Nielsen notes that consistency breeds familiarity, so you should comply with conventions to meet user expectations:

This consistency means that people know a breadcrumb trail when they see one, and immediately know how to use it. Consistency breeds familiarity and predictability, which breed usability. This again means that you must comply with conventions in the design of your own breadcrumbs.

More often than not, the user will look for the breadcrumbs immediately below the main navigation, because this is where they're most commonly found.

A search of Google Images for the term "website breadcrumbs" shows just how common it is to find breadcrumbs at the top:

Google Images search for Website Breadcrumbs


Why do Apple put it at the bottom?

So the user doesn't have to scroll back up to the top.

Apple tend to have very long pages, so putting it at the bottom is helpful.

However, putting it in both locations would serve both the expectations of the user, and aid those needing to locate themselves after reaching the end of the page.

Apple does this by:

  • Showing traditional breadcrumbs at the bottom
  • Highlighting the selected items in the main navigation at the top.
    • This provides the same functionality as breadcrumbs.

Apple Top Breadcrumbs Apple Bottom Breadcrumbs

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  • 1
    why does apple place it below? I agree it should be placed below main navigation.
    – NB4
    Jul 25, 2017 at 6:33
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    My apologies, I submitted my answer early so I hadn't yet put the explanation to that. It's now in my answer.
    – user101673
    Jul 25, 2017 at 6:42
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    Functionally, if it's not in a fixed header, "bottom or both" would often be better (since you're often at/near the bottom when you want to go elsewhere), but as you say, familiarity is generally more important still. Perhaps I'd go with "Fixed to the top or both".
    – TripeHound
    Jul 26, 2017 at 9:49
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    Generally the point I'm trying to make is that both is better :)
    – user101673
    Jul 26, 2017 at 10:09

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