For "home" link on a website, is just using the logo an accepted idiom these days?

[Rob Jones]

I'm working on a site that has a lot of top-level nav links and a ridiculously wide logo; for layout and visual purposes, it would be awesome to lose the "Home" link.

I see a lot of sites doing this:

Apple

Mailchimp

Tumblr

Is it an acceptable practice these days to lose the "home" link and assume users know to click the logo to navigate to the home page? Any usability studies bear this out?

[Tori Breitling]

Great question. Unfortunately, I think it also qualifies as an eternal question, ie, unanswerable. Definitively, anyway. :) I think it depends on how likely the users will want to go back to "home."

I haven't seen any conclusive studies, but there are some interesting views on Quora:

http://www.quora.com/UX-Design/If-my-header-has-a-large-logo-that-t...

[Erin Lynn Young]

I watched testing on a site that didn't link the logo to home, and users were totally lost.  So, while we weren't studying the importance of the 'home' link, having the logo click to home was very important for a lot of users.

[Rob Jones]

My opinion is why *not* have a "Home" link; for some reason this client just hates the idea of them.

I just don't think depending on the logo as the only way to navigate to the home page is a good idea yet; this idiom is just not mature enough, and novices could easily be confused. Of course, the expected behavior for clicking the logo should be going to the home page on all sites these days.

[Nash Grey]

My experience is that in the absence of any link to "home", users will assume that the "top left" logo takes them back to whatever page they started from. Unfortunately, that may not have been the home page; in which case you can end up confusing or frustrating folks. 

[Inge De Bleecker]

I've had the same experience as Erin in a number of usability testing sessions; users were quite lost without the textual link to 'Home'.

[Erin Lynn Young]

cnet has an elegant, non-textual, non-invasive approach: http://reviews.cnet.com/laptop-buying-guide/

[Rob Jones]

I just ran across this blog post today. Seemed relevant to this discussion. 

http://dcurt.is/batshit-crazy

[Rob Jones]

Apple uses the "Home" icon as well. I don't mind it at all. 

Erin Lynn Young said:

cnet has an elegant, non-textual, non-invasive approach: http://reviews.cnet.com/laptop-buying-guide/

[Kathrin Peek]

another solution could be surfacing a home icon when hovering over the logo. check out usaa for an example.

[Rob Jones]

That is clever. Not as obvious as a home link or icon, but better than just hoping the user knows to click home! 

https://www.usaa.com/

Kathrin Peek said:

another solution could be surfacing a home icon when hovering over the logo. check out usaa for an example.

[Robert J. Garza]

The question I have is - Why would you want someone to constantly come back to the home page? 

I want them to dive deeper into the website.  I don't want visitors to my house always looking for the front door to find the bathroom.  Menu real estate is precious.  Use the main menu to push your services, your products or your mission.  Keep them wanting more.

I still feel that you need a great home page to entice people deeper.  Then what?  What is your strategy to guide people to other content?

I think the logo should serve as the "Home Button".  I feel using your logo or your mark as the way home will help them remember your name.

USAA has an innovative and easy to implement idea.  (Not sure if I like their menus - too much)

[Edgar Rodriguez]

If the client really wants the home link in the navigation bar but there is not enough space, other option can be to move the navigation bar below the logo occupying the full width of the page. But this might need more layout arrangements...