"Your visitors should be able to find what they are looking for in your site within three clicks"
This has been a known fact amongst web designers for a long time now and
although the complexity of sites has evolved and amount of content has
increased, your visitor's expectations demand easy navigation.
If your visitor does not see what they like within a few clicks,
they are very likely to click off your site as quickly as they clicked
on.
All of your hyperlinks should be clear to your visitors. Graphic
images, such as buttons or tabs, should be clearly labeled and easy to
read.
It is more important that your navigational buttons and tabs be easy to read and understand than to have "flashy" effects.
Make life easier for search engines by keeping your navigation close to the top left corner of your site.