consistency
layout
HTML tables
style sheets
frames
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linking
Mostly your visitor will come to your site via a search engine. On an arbitrary page in the middle of your site. If this is a dead end without links, it will be cumbersome to go somewhere else. If the page is interesting he is likely to try to fool around with the URL in the location window. Just hoping to get to see something. If he knows how to do this. The internet is made out of links, so never make a page without them.
If the page is interesting enough for your visitor, he will definitely want to see the rest of your site. At least you should make a link to your home page. He can explore your site from there. If you have a larger site, you may consider including a site map page. Put a link to this index on every page. You'll provide an instant overview of the site and make it easy to pick out interesting topics.
You may provide your visitor with a guided tour. All pages are connected to each other. On the bottom of the page you make a link to a page that logically follows it. Do this until you have linked all pages. Point your visitor to the possibility of having a guided tour.
By only linking your pages to an index page, you'll have to switch back and forth to view the entire site. If your visitor should want to view the whole site, you can save him the trouble of doing this. Just by providing the guided tour. He can rest assured he is not missing anything important. For sites with a lot of information this might just be the best approach.
If your site is not too large, you may consider putting a complete index on all of your pages. Preferably in a column of the left hand side. You can switch to any page on the site. A somewhat larger site may be better served with a smaller menu consisting of only the main topics. Followed by some directly related links. You'll limit the number of choices and get a clearer overview.
Links can be made with symbols. These can make your site look better graphically. Well chosen icons are often better recognizable than text. Anyone can understand the symbols on a CD player or tape deck. Simple characters like a question or exclamation mark are instantly clear. Also anyone will recognize a smilie as a face. But all there is to see are a circle, two dots and a curved line.
If you want to replace too much choices by icons, it will get very difficult to do this. All of you will have bought a new TV sometime. Some buttons are instantly clear, like on/off, the channels and the sound volume. The rest of the buttons will probably be less obvious, requiring you to read the manual. And all of us have probably felt like a moron, when trying to program your video recorder for the first time.
Should you want to use less obvious symbols, always ask
yourself if these are clear enough. Put them on a piece of paper and show
them someone else without telling anything further. Ask them to write
down what they mean to them. You can ask several people to do this. You
will notice what is obvious to you, may be very confusing for someone
else. Only use these icons if the majority of people understands them
instantly. Otherwise don't use them or put a clarifying text below them.