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Thinking they have found the solution to give users immediate access
to all the different sections and subcestions of a site, a lot of
sites use a menu that shows the second level of navigation when
users move their mouse over one of the main items. Instead of
accommodating users however, this type of navigation - usually
called a cascading menu - often frustrates them.
Hard to use
Most users find a cascading menu very hard to use. The most
important barrier is that quite often it isn't possible to follow a
direct line from the item in the main navigation to the wanted item
in the second level of navigation without the subnavigation
disappearing or changing into a different main item's second level
of navigation. On the site of the
Belgian Golden Pages, users who move their
mouse pointer from 'REACT' to 'COMMENT' in a straight line see the
second level of navigation of 'REACT' disappear. The only way to
reach 'COMMENT', is by moving the mouse pointer downwards (to
'MODIFICATIONS') and then go over every second level item of 'REACT'
until you finally reach 'COMMENT'. Both beginning and experienced
users often have difficulties selecting the right item.
No overview
Some web designers try to justify the use of a cascading menu by
saying it gives users a complete overview of the information a site
has to offer. That isn't completely true. Users can only see the
second level of one main navigation item at a time and by the time
they reach the third main item, most users have already forgotten
how many second level items the first main item had, let alone what
they were. Needless to say, the overview argument doesn't hold up.
Another important downside to cascading menus is the negative
effect they have on the readability of a web site. When a user opens
up the second level of navigation of a certain item, a part of the
page is inevitably covered by the opened second level, thus
obscuring the underlying text.
Keep it simple
Obviously, a navigation system that has such detrimental effects on
the immediate usability, ease of use and legibility of a web site
does very little to improve the overall user-friendliness of it.
Don't make things unnecessarily hard on your users, avoid cascading
menus and choose a simple navigation.
Els Aerts & Karl Gilis
A more in depth version of this article
has appeared in
Tips & Advies Online Ondernemen, year 5, number 17 (Belgium and
the Netherlands).
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