The hamburger menu has been stirring up quite the controversy when it comes to web design. You’ll recognise it as the three lines stacked on top of each other thought to resemble a hamburger (do you want fries with that) – which is how it got its name.
The hamburger menu (or icon) is more well-known for its use on mobile sites but when it started showing up on desktops as well people started to get a little hot and bothered. Some of the causes for concern include:
Hide and seek
A Hamburger menu can decrease discoverability as visitors need to be able to identify the Sidebar Menu button as actionable first. This of course makes it less efficient as the user has to open the menu before they can see and reach what they are looking for.
Short attention span
Visitors want you to make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for with glanceable info on your site. So if you’re sending them to navigate into other sections of your menu then they may not think you have what they’re looking for.
Clash of personalities
In platforms such as iOS, it’s almost impossible to implement the hamburger menu without it clashing with standard navigation patterns. The issue here is that your Navigation Bar risks being overloaded or you’re going to force visitors to navigate several screens to get to their destination.
Don’t write it off just yet!
Whilst some may argue that the hamburger menu is the cheat’s way of converting your desktop into a mobile site – being able to expand a menu to display options that are not always needed when users’ first land on your site might be just the solution your business needs.
There’s no doubt that in an increasingly mobile world you need to connect with those who want the option of finding you via their tablets and smartphones. So do your research to work out exactly what they need – talk to your target market, conduct A/B tests of your site and work out the right strategy for you.
Remember, you are the best judge of what is right for your business and if you do a great job with your content to let site visitors see what they need at a glance, then a hamburger menu might just be the perfect complement for the rest!