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Why navigation important?

You can have the most wonderful page on the planet, but if it's not easy to navigate, then nobody will ever know, they'll never come back, and worse yet, they'll never tell any of their friends about your site.  It sounds scary and it is.  Sites that are difficult to navigate don't get used.  Thus, there are several tips to know whether your site is either hard or easy to navigate.

Things to avoid in navigation

1. Navigation should not be overdone. In particular, the so-called spoke design where every page is linked to every other page should be avoided since it leads to reduce usability.
2. Similarly, should not have overblown footers that link to too many meta-features (say, "about the company" or a privacy statement).
3. It is not necessary to mention all features of the site on all pages. Instead, select a very small number of highly useful features and limit pervasive linking to maybe five or six things like for example search.
4. Do not link to all sections of the site from all pages. Instead, provide links to all levels of the hierarchy above the current location.
5. Local links to related content are also very useful. Users rarely land directly at the desired page, especially when using a search engine. But they often get close.

Some tips to improve site navigational

1. Table of Contents - Whether you do a table or a bulleted list, you need to have an easy to find list of the things available on your site
2. Invisible Links - Nothing is more frustrating than a page full of graphics with no text.  This makes the user have to put their mouse over each picture to find out where they need to go.  That's not too bad if the web designer remembered to include alternate text, but otherwise have to keep eyes on the bottom of the screen. 
3. The Three Click Rule - Users want to get in, get the information, and get out.  They should be able to find anything on your site in just three clicks.  
4. Avoid Irrelevant Links - Don't put irrelevant links on websites.  Always keep the site full with related links.
5. Leave Breadcrumbs - One way or another, leave a trail back out for visitors who have ventured deep into the depths of your website.  (This is easy to do if put a main menu at the bottom of each page or a "you are here" at the top.)
6. Don't Bury Information - Make it user friendly. Users shouldn't have to go hunting to find things.  Better to have a larger menu than to have a menu that doesn't give enough information.
7. Provide Help - If all else fails, users need a way to get in touch for answers.  Be sure to provide a way that can be reached on each and every page