Should I add a 'Home' Button to the navigation?

I know that it is common behavior to have the logo of a web page be a link to the home page, but should I also have a 'home' link in the navigation bar for it as well?

Answer

I don't know how many times (many) I've been asked "How do I get back to the home page?" when I've skipped the home link in the main navigation.

I've started doing 1 of 2 things recently:

1. 
   

   Move the home link to the last or second last item on the main menu. I've wondered if this is a good idea because personally I often look for "Contact Us" in that position, but it seems to help users. But sometimes I will put it second last so at least it's there, but I could see this getting lost in the middle then.

   
   


2. 
   

   Add a home image (small house shaped icon) somewhere in the upper portion of the page, usually on the right. The removes the need for an extra menu item.

   
   

I haven't had any complaints after doing either of these (that they can't get back to the home page).

I also think the general reason why people want to go back to the home page is because they get lost on a website, so I think reducing the cause is a better solution that encouraging people to "start over" to figure things out. This is unless your home page is like Facebook or SO where it contains the most recent information.

I do also like DisgruntledGoat's idea of doing something similar to Facebook's logo/home link with a roll over to show that it's the home page link.

Similar question and answers here: https://webmasters.stackexchange.com/questions/1649/