Definition: A type of secondary navigation used for way-finding in order to reveal the user's location within a website or application. Breadcrumbs prove to be especially helpful when landing on a page out of context or not arriving initially through a homepage.

Thought: Breadcrumbs are seen and used most often on large websites full of copious amounts of information, like e-commerce sites. However, it seems that the trend for breadcrumbs may be fading fast and the pattern is not as strong or significant as it was, say, three years ago.

It is important to keep an eye out for such trends because, like in any other constantly and evolving field, patterns go in and out of style. I mentioned it here because it is an important term to know and understand when discussing way-finding and navigational context even if the pattern may not be as widely used.

Question: What do you think; are breadcrumbs still an impactful and/or a relevant UI pattern?