bellhop by actabl

When to use

Use breadcrumbs to show users where they are in the navigation hierarchy and provide quick navigation to parent pages.

Deep Navigation

Display location in multi-level hierarchical structures.

Quick Navigation

Allow users to quickly jump back to parent levels.

Context Awareness

Help users understand where they are in the application.

When not to use

  • On top-level pages or homepages where there's no hierarchy to display
  • In mobile views with deep hierarchies—consider showing only the parent level
  • For lateral navigation between sibling pages—use tabs instead
  • When the navigation path is obvious or has only one level

Anatomy

Breadcrumbs consist of clickable links separated by a visual divider, with the current page shown as non-interactive text.

  1. Home Icon (Optional)

    Icon representing the root/home level of the navigation hierarchy

  2. Breadcrumb Link

    Clickable text that navigates to a parent page in the hierarchy

  3. Separator

    Visual divider (chevron icon) between breadcrumb items

  4. Current Page

    Non-clickable text showing the current location (last item)

  5. Ellipsis (Optional)

    Collapsed middle items shown as "..." when path exceeds max visible items

Features

Breadcrumbs include smart features to handle various navigation scenarios.

Home Icon

Optional home icon for the root level

Ellipsis Collapsing

Automatically collapse long paths with ellipsis

Custom Separators

Configurable separator between items

Active State

Current page is visually distinct

Examples

See breadcrumbs in different configurations.

Default

Standard breadcrumb navigation showing the path hierarchy.

With Ellipsis

Long paths are collapsed with ellipsis to save space.

Best Practices

Follow these guidelines when using breadcrumbs.

Do

  • Place breadcrumbs near the top of the page
  • Keep breadcrumb labels short and clear
  • Use breadcrumbs for hierarchical navigation only
  • Make all items except the last one clickable
  • Use ellipsis for long paths to save space

Don't

  • Don't use breadcrumbs for single-level navigation
  • Don't make the current page (last item) clickable
  • Don't use breadcrumbs on mobile devices (use back button instead)
  • Don't use overly long labels

Accessibility

Breadcrumbs are designed to be accessible to all users.

Semantic HTML

  • Uses <nav> with aria-label="breadcrumb"
  • Structured as an ordered list
  • Current page marked with aria-current="page"

Keyboard Navigation

  • Tab - Move between breadcrumb links
  • Enter - Activate link
  • All links are keyboard accessible

Screen Reader

  • Navigation role is announced
  • Breadcrumb trail is properly communicated
  • Current location is identified
  • Link labels are clear and descriptive

Resources

Design and development resources for the Breadcrumbs component.

Figma

Available
View in Figma →

Web Components/Angular

Available
View in Storybook →

React

Available
View in Storybook →