{"id":209,"slug":"rule-avoid-audience-based-primary-nav","title":"RULE: Don't use audience-based primary nav unless audience categories are mutually exclusive, jargon-free, with substantially unique content","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","claude-code","candid-team"],"topics":["agency-methodology","information-architecture","navigation-design"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** For Candid Creative client sites, audience-based primary navigation (\"For Farmers,\" \"For Fleet Managers,\" \"For Homeowners\") is the **default exception, not the default rule**. Use it only when:\n\n1. Audience categories are **mutually exclusive** (a buyer self-identifies as exactly one)\n2. Labels are **jargon-free** (the buyer recognizes themselves in the words)\n3. Each section has **substantially unique content** (not the same SKUs with the audience name swapped)\n\nIf any of the three fail, switch to subject-based IA (Industries + Services as orthogonal axes).\n\n**Why:** NN/g's flagship finding ([[nng-audience-based-navigation-degrades-usability-2022]]): *\"Segmenting a website's navigation by audience categories will often degrade usability, either because users belong in multiple categories, or because they feel the need to look at content targeted at several segments.\"* Five recurring problems documented in [[nng-five-problems-with-role-based-navigation]].\n\n**How to apply:** Before recommending audience-led IA, run the five NN/g problems against the client's actual buyer set. If three or more apply, default to Industries × Services. The honest small-business pattern is **hub-and-spoke** ([[rule-small-distributor-use-hub-and-spoke]]), not audience-segmented.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"nng-audience-based-navigation-degrades-usability-2022","title":"NN/g: audience-based navigation \"will often degrade usability\" (Laubheimer, Aug 14 2022)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"nng-five-problems-with-role-based-navigation","title":"NN/g: five recurring problems with role-based navigation (Laubheimer, 2022)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-ia-multi-vertical-service-business","title":"Research brief: Information architecture for service businesses with multiple verticals (piece 6 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T19:40:49.145Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T19:40:49.145Z"}