Hidden Navigation and User Experience

Hidden and Hamburger menus became popular with the increased importance of designing better interfaces for smartphones and tablets. Since 2015, the most popular device for connecting to the Internet in the UK is the smartphone; responsible for a third of Internet access.

Not only are people using their smartphones more but they are willing to make purchases on their smartphone. Monetate, a large marketing company, published their conversion rates for their retail over two years. In Q4 of 2014 the conversion rate for smartphones was only 1.94% but in Q4 of 2015 the conversion rate was 3.05%.

The benefits of using hidden navigation are that designers can create a website which will work across different devices and removing a fixed menu bar means a website isn’t cluttered and allows content to be adjusted in the future.

Unfortunately, recent usability tests by Nielsen Norman Group of Hidden and Hamburger menus on desktop sites have found that discoverability of a site is reduced when global navigation is hidden. This results in an increase in the time it takes for users to complete navigation tasks on a site and they rate site navigation as more difficult.

Here are some ways in which you can determine whether hidden navigation is right for your site.

1. Google Analytics. Google’s In-page analytics allow you to see the percentage of clicks to certain links. This can be used to see if a traditional fixed global menu or hidden global navigation helps your users find what they are looking for.

1. User testing. Alongside your analytics get users in and record how they navigate your website. You are looking for if they use hidden global navigation or rely heavily on local navigation and search features.

1. Bounce rates. Compare the bounce rates of your site before adding hidden global navigation to see if the lack of visible global navigation means people are less willing to view the rest of your site.

1. Order amount. If after implementing a hidden global menu your order sizes decrease this could be due to users not being able to find other products on your site.

1. Feedback. Place a feedback link on every page and encourage users to fill it in if they have issues navigating the site. This will let you know if your content has reduced discoverability.

As the use of hidden global navigation increases this should improve most users understanding of how they work.

Like most web design, deciding on whether hidden global navigation helps or hinders your site is down to your users, how they use your site and how you want to display your content. Analytics and research can help you prove quantifiably which kind of navigation works better.

Channel Dynamics can help by performing user research, using analytics to reduce bounce and suggesting the best structure for your site. Or take one of our training courses to set you and your team up for successful testing in-house.