NavigationScopeTaxonomy [principle] v1.0.0

Every navigation component belongs to exactly one of three scopes: (1) Global — spans the entire product and appears on all pages; (2) Local — scoped to a single section or feature area, appears within that context only; (3) Contextual — inline links from relevant content to related content, not a reusable nav component.

Applies To

• frontend-design
• information-architecture
• design-systems

Scope Definitions

• Global navigation: top-level sidebar, top bar, or mobile tab bar. Contains 3–7 items. Present on every page. Landmarks:
• Local navigation: section-level sidebar, secondary tabs, or subsection links. Appears only within a specific section. Landmarks:
• Contextual navigation: in-content links like 'Related articles', 'See also', 'Next step in guide'. Rendered inline with content. May or may not be a

NavigationScopeTaxonomy [principle] v1.0.0

Every navigation component belongs to exactly one of three scopes: (1) Global — spans the entire product and appears on all pages; (2) Local — scoped to a single section or feature area, appears within that context only; (3) Contextual — inline links from relevant content to related content, not a reusable nav component.

Applies To

• frontend-design
• information-architecture
• design-systems

Scope Definitions

• Global navigation: top-level sidebar, top bar, or mobile tab bar. Contains 3–7 items. Present on every page. Landmarks:
• Local navigation: section-level sidebar, secondary tabs, or subsection links. Appears only within a specific section. Landmarks:
• Contextual navigation: in-content links like 'Related articles', 'See also', 'Next step in guide'. Rendered inline with content. May or may not be a

Examples

• Global: Vercel sidebar (Dashboard/Projects/Deployments/Settings) — present on all pages
• Local: Stripe Docs left sidebar listing sections within the 'Payments' API reference
• Contextual: 'On this page' TOC inside an article; 'Related topics' links at the end of a doc

Rationale

Mixing navigation scopes creates confusion — a global nav that partially reflects local structure, or a local nav that bleeds into global space, forces users to re-orient constantly. Knowing the scope of a nav component determines its design: global nav must be highly stable and always visible; local nav can be denser and context-specific; contextual nav must feel in-line with content, not like a separate UI layer.