As an experienced website operations expert, I fully understand the importance of breadcrumb navigation in enhancing user experience and optimizing search engine rankings.AnQiCMS provides strong content operation support with its flexible template engine and rich tag system.However, when the content hierarchy of a website is deep, the breadcrumb navigation path becomes lengthy, how to elegantly present it becomes a topic worth discussing.

The template creation for AnQi CMS follows the Django template engine syntax, which means we have a great degree of freedom to control the presentation of content. Especially its built-inbreadcrumbTags are the core of handling breadcrumb navigation. Next, we will delve into the effective optimization methods for displaying when the AnQiCMS breadcrumb navigation path is too long.

Understand breadcrumb navigation in AnQi CMS

In AnQi CMS, breadcrumb navigation is achieved through{% breadcrumb %}This tag is generated. This tag will return an array object containing all levels of the path from the current page to the homepage (usually namedcrumbs), with each array element containingName(link name) andLink[Link address] and other information. This means that we are not just displaying a fixed path, but are able to traverse this [array] and fine-tune each level.crumbsarray, and fine-tune each level in detail.

breadcrumbThe tag itself provides some parameters to adjust the default behavior, for example,indexThe parameters can customize the displayed text on the homepage,titleParameters can control the display of the last (current page) breadcrumb item. This built-in flexibility lays the foundation for our optimization work.

Optimization strategies for breadcrumbs navigation path being too long

When the breadcrumbs navigation path becomes too long, we can mainly optimize from the following aspects:

1. Simplify the displayed text

A lengthy breadcrumb path is often due to long names at certain levels. We can optimize the text from the following perspectives:

  • Review content naming specification:In the Anqi CMS backend, we can set 'category name', 'document title', and even 'custom URL' for categories, documents, single pages, etc.When planning the content structure, it should be made as concise and clear as possible.For example, 'Company News Dynamics' can be simplified to 'Company News'.

  • Utilize template filters to truncate text:If the name set in the background cannot be further shortened, we can use the string filter provided by Anqi CMS on the template level to visually truncate it. For example,truncatecharsThe filter can truncate long text and add an ellipsis at the end. We can handle it like this: 

    {% for item in crumbs %}
    <li><a href="{{item.Link}}">{{item.Name|truncatechars:15}}</a></li>
{% endfor %}

    This code will truncate each breadcrumb item's name to 15 characters, and the part beyond will be displayed with an ellipsis to avoid taking up too much space.

  • Use abbreviations or keywords:For levels that some users are very familiar with, consider using abbreviations or more representative keywords to replace the full name.This usually requires combining front-end logic or customizing fields in the AnQi CMS backend to achieve it, for example, adding a 'Breadcrumb Abbreviation' field for each category in the backend, and then displaying this abbreviation first in the template.

2. Smart Control Display Layer

In some cases, even if the name is already concise, too many levels can still make the navigation bar look cluttered. At this point, we can consider intelligently hiding or collapsing some of the intermediate levels.

  • Show only key levels:A common practice is to only display several key nodes such as 'Home', 'Top Categories', 'Current Page', etc., and hide the intermediate subcategories or replace them with '...'. In the templates of Anqi CMS, we can judge throughcrumbsArray element index or reverse index (forloop.Counterandforloop.Revcounter) to implement this logic:

    {%- breadcrumb crumbs %}
<nav aria-label="breadcrumb">
    <ol class="breadcrumb">
        {%- for item in crumbs %}
            {%- if forloop.First %} {# 始终显示第一个元素（通常是首页） #}
                <li class="breadcrumb-item"><a href="{{item.Link}}">{{item.Name}}</a></li>
            {%- elif forloop.Last %} {# 始终显示最后一个元素（当前页面） #}
                <li class="breadcrumb-item active" aria-current="page">{{item.Name}}</li>
            {%- elif forloop.Counter <= 2 or forloop.Revcounter <= 1 %} {# 显示前两个和倒数第二个元素 #}
                <li class="breadcrumb-item"><a href="{{item.Link}}">{{item.Name}}</a></li>
            {%- elif forloop.Counter == 3 and forloop.Revcounter > 1 %} {# 在中间插入省略号 #}
                <li class="breadcrumb-item ellipsis">...</li>
            {%- endif %}
        {%- endfor %}
    </ol>
</nav>
{%- endbreadcrumb %}

    This code will display the homepage, the current page, and the first two and second-to-last elements in the path. Excessive levels in the middle will be represented by an ellipsis.

  • Collapsible navigation:For very deep content structures, consider collapsing the intermediate levels into a clickable "More" or "…" button. Clicking on it will expand to display the full path. This usually requires a combination of JavaScript and CSS to implement, and it is still traversed in the template.crumbsAn array, but renders an interactive element under specific conditions.

3. Dynamic Adaptation and Responsive Handling

The screen space of mobile devices is limited, and long breadcrumb navigation can severely affect user experience on mobile devices. Therefore, responsive optimization for different devices is crucial.

  • CSS Media Queries:The most basic method is to use CSS media queries to adjust the breadcrumb style on small screen devices.For example, one can hide less important levels or stack all levels and limit their width and font size.
  • JavaScript Dynamic Adjustment:The more advanced strategy is to use JavaScript.On mobile, the breadcrumb navigation can be simplified to a mode that only displays 'Home' and 'Current Page', with the middle path accessible via a clickable button (such as 'Go Up One Level' or 'View Full Path').