Among the techniques for optimizing a website for search engines, the use of breadcrumbs is a very interesting alternative because they always offer users an alternative to navigate the website or online store.
Implementing breadcrumbs on a website is an ideal process to improve web usability and enhance user experience.
For web design and SEO, breadcrumbs are a very important tool.
What are Breadcrumbs?
Breadcrumbs are an element designed to facilitate users' access to different parts of the web . Their name comes from the story of Hansel and Gretel and the episode where they leave breadcrumbs to remember the way back home.
On a website, breadcrumbs act as a trail so that the user can retrace their steps and easily reach their starting point , making web navigation much more agile and simple.
Breadcrumbs also allow users to identify where they are on the website , allowing them to retrace their steps or directly access other related pages.
There are different types of breadcrumbs:
- Hierarchical breadcrumbs . These are the most commonly used and follow the structure of the page. They are the type of links found at the top of an eCommerce site indicating the route to the current page.
- History breadcrumbs . These types of breadcrumbs are arranged in the order in which the user accesses the content, allowing them to retrace their steps.
An example of a hierarchical breadcrumb structure follows the following pattern:
Home / Category / Subcategory / Product
The category in bold is where the user is located, and by clicking on any of the others they can directly access its content.
Data Markup. What is it?
When we talk about structured data markup, we are talking about marking up a part of the content of a website to indicate to Google that this data is important and that it corresponds to information that is useful for users .
Rich snippets are enriched results that appear in the first positions of Google SERPs, and are obtained by analyzing the structured data of websites related to the search.
Getting breadcrumbs to be used by Google to display them in rich results will allow the online store or website to significantly increase its visibility.
How to Create Breadcrumbs?
Implementing breadcrumbs on a website, blog or online store is not a complex process thanks to the use of specific modules and plugins.
Next, we will see how to create breadcrumbs in the WordPress content manager and in the PrestaShop online store creation and management tool.
Breadcrumbs in PrestaShop
PrestaShop incorporates its own hierarchical breadcrumb system, based on the product categories of the online store. By editing the CSS code of the breadcrumb styles page, you can customize them to better adapt them to the needs and design of the online store.
It is also possible to replace PrestaShop breadcrumbs using a module such as Google Rich Snippets Breadcrumb s. Thanks to this module, breadcrumbs can be implemented in a PrestaShop store with the necessary configuration so that Google can display it prominently in its results pages.
Breadcrumbs are supported by Google through HTML and Schema.org structured data markup , so implementing them properly makes it possible for them to appear as rich results in Google SERPs.
This and other types of Rich Snippets are essential for working on SEO in PrestaShop .Breadcrumbs plugin for WordPress
There are many options for including breadcrumbs in WordPress. For example, the famous plugins YoastSEO or Rank Math include among their various functions the possibility of configuring a breadcrumb system for a WordPress website, either through shortcodes or php.
You can also choose to install and activate one of the many specific plugins for creating breadcrumbs in WordPress, such as:
- Breadcrumb NavXT - This plugin makes it easy to install a breadcrumb navigation in WordPress, making it easier for users to navigate your site. It includes support for multiple languages, is compatible with Schema to increase the chances of being displayed in Google's rich results, and also has the ability to implement a simple breadcrumb system for those who prefer not to overload the site.
- WooCommerce Breadcrumbs - This plugin is intended to implement breadcrumbs in an online store created by WooCommerce, the WordPress system for creating an eCommerce. The plugin changes the basic breadcrumb system that WooCommerce incorporates by default, providing a greater degree of flexibility and customization (with HTML editing and the possibility of changing the type of separator between categories, for example).
Breadcrumbs are very important for a good SEO strategy as they improve usability and user experience, which makes Google rank the site higher.
Being compatible with Schema structured data, breadcrumbs are a great opportunity to get an online store or website to appear prominently within Google search results pages.
