UX Fail #2: Fast or Slow Food Overview?

Hamburg menus have established themselves as helpful navigation elements on mobile devices, but on the desktop they slow down orientation and information reception considerably.

What exactly is the problem?

On large displays, all visible content (texts, images, etc.) compete for the attention of the user. In this context, a Hamburg menu can easily get lost due to its small size, and the ability to find the menu is unnecessarily impaired.

In addition, the main advantage of desktop use is the better clarity compared to the mobile view: After landing on a website, the visible main categories of a navigation menu show references to the offered contents without the need for another click. This is no longer possible with the Hamburg menu, as an overview of the offered topics is only possible after one click. Due to the limited space on mobile devices, the overview is usually limited to exactly one navigation level.

Likewise, the accessibility of the content on the desktop is unnecessarily limited by the Hamburg menu, as users have to click through the different levels to reach their destination.

Recommendations from usability research:

• Use the strengths and possibilities of large displays. You have space - so show what you have!
• Allow your users to get a direct overview of the content through an "open main menu": without click or other action.
• Show more content and sub-levels after click or mouse-over.