JD Sports - Main Navigation

Context

JD’s main navigation had grown organically over time.

New categories, brands, campaigns and trading priorities were layered on without structural reconsideration.

The result:

  • Inconsistent category logic

  • Overloaded menus

  • Tension between merchandising and usability

  • Mobile and desktop behaving differently

The brief was optimisation.

The opportunity was architectural redesign.

The Real Problem

Navigation wasn’t just cluttered — it reflected internal org structure, not customer mental models.

Commercial pressure meant:

  • High-margin categories pushed to top level

  • Campaign links competing with core journeys

  • SEO considerations influencing labelling

  • Merchandising priorities changing weekly

Users, meanwhile, were trying to:

  • Find products quickly

  • Browse by intent (sport, brand, gender)

  • Understand where they were in the hierarchy

This was a structural and governance issue — not a visual one.

Approach

1. Reframe Navigation as a System

In kickoff, I positioned navigation as:

The structural backbone of the ecommerce experience.

Not a menu redesign — a scalable taxonomy decision.

This shifted conversations from “where should we put X?”
to “what mental model are we committing to?”

2. Diagnose the Current State

I analysed:

  • Search query data

  • Top navigation click paths

  • Drop-off points

  • Category overlap

  • Mobile vs desktop divergence

I mapped the existing IA and identified duplication, dead ends and competing hierarchies.

This made complexity visible to stakeholders.

3. Align Around User Mental Models

I ran:

  • Open and closed card sorts

  • Tree testing on proposed structures

  • Internal workshops with Merchandising & Trade

The tension was predictable:

Commercial priorities vs cognitive simplicity.

Rather than remove commercial needs, I created rules:

  • Core taxonomy remains stable

  • Campaigns live in controlled promotional zones

  • Top-level categories reflect user entry points, not margin

This prevented future sprawl.

Strategic Decisions

1. Simplify Top-Level Categories

Reduced redundancy and clarified primary entry routes.

2. Separate Structural vs Promotional Space

Stopped campaigns from corrupting IA.

3. Align Mobile & Desktop Behaviour

Committed to a shared taxonomy with platform-appropriate interaction patterns.

4. Introduce Governance Principles

Defined criteria for adding new categories or links.

This was critical.
Without governance, navigation would degrade again.

Delivery Under Constraints

Constraints included:

  • SEO equity tied to existing URLs

  • Trade teams requiring agility

  • Engineering limitations within the CMS

  • Tight trading calendar windows

To manage this, I:

  • Phased rollout by category

  • Preserved key URLs where needed

  • Designed flexible mega-menu templates

  • Created documentation for future additions

This balanced structural improvement with operational reality.

Outcome

Clearer top-level hierarchy

  • Reduced duplication across categories

  • Improved findability in tree testing

  • Greater consistency between mobile and desktop

  • Shared rules for future expansion

CTR lifted from 18% to 32%.

Weekly revenue increased from £125k to £205k.

More importantly:

Navigation shifted from reactive to intentional.