Best Practices for Vertical Navigation

Vertical navigation, where menus are arranged vertically along the side of a webpage, is ideal for websites expecting significant growth in their content or offerings. This style is popular among large organizations in sectors like B2B, enterprise, government, higher education, and healthcare.

Vertical navigation allows for easy expansion without needing a complete redesign. New categories can be seamlessly integrated into the existing structure, maintaining a coherent and user-friendly interface. For example, an enterprise software company can easily add new product lines or services without disrupting the overall user experience. By using vertical navigation, these organizations ensure their sites remain scalable and easy to navigate, even as they grow and evolve.^[1]

Vertical navigation enhances findability by clearly displaying categories, making it easier for users to locate items quickly. This navigation style removes design constraints that limit the number of categories, allowing for a more comprehensive information architecture that fits the website's content naturally. With vertical navigation, users can see specific, high-information scent categories without needing to dive into submenus.

This approach not only enhances the user experience but also reduces the interaction cost, making the site more efficient and user-friendly.

Vertical navigation boosts scannability by taking advantage of users' natural viewing patterns and improving how quickly they can find what they need. Studies show that users focus on the left side of the screen 80% of the time, so placing navigation menus there makes them more noticeable and easier to scan.^[2]

Research also shows that vertical lists are easier to search than horizontal ones.^[3] Users can find what they’re looking for with fewer eye movements because they can see more information at once.

Vertical navigation is a familiar pattern for many users, making it easier to learn and navigate. Despite being less common on modern websites, vertical navigation is often used in desktop applications and web apps. This familiarity helps users feel more comfortable and confident when interacting with a site.

Many websites also use vertical local navigation to display related pages within the same category, enhancing the sense of coherence and structure.

Familiar patterns reduce the learning curve, making users feel more at ease and improving overall satisfaction. Vertical navigation not only simplifies site exploration but also builds a stronger connection between users and the interface.

Vertical navigation adapts seamlessly to mobile devices, offering a consistent user experience across platforms. While horizontal menus often need significant adjustments to become mobile-friendly, usually transforming into vertical menus hidden under hamburger icons, vertical navigation requires minimal changes. This consistency allows you to apply the same visual choices across desktop and mobile with ease.

One drawback of vertical navigation is that it takes up more screen space, leaving less room for content compared to horizontal navigation. This can lead to a lower content-to-chrome ratio (the total amount of space your site uses for navigation elements), particularly challenging on smaller displays or tablets.

Designers working with responsive designs need to carefully consider how vertical navigation impacts different screen sizes and decide on the best UI for various breakpoints. For instance, on a smartphone, vertical navigation might take up too much space, making it hard for users to view content without excessive scrolling. In such cases, you might opt for a collapsible menu or a different navigation style.

Conversely, on large monitors, vertical navigation is less intrusive as the extra screen space can accommodate both navigation and content without issue. Weigh these considerations when choosing vertical navigation, ensuring it enhances rather than hinders the user experience.

When placing vertical navigation on a page, the left side is generally the best choice due to users’ visual attention patterns. Users naturally focus more on the left side of the screen, and placing navigation there increases the likelihood it will be noticed and used. In comparison, placing navigation on the right side can lead to it being overlooked, especially since users often exhibit right-rail blindness, avoiding areas that might contain ads. For languages that read right to left, this guideline should be reversed.^[4]

Adding labels to icons in vertical menus enhances usability by reducing ambiguity and increasing the target size for clicks. While some websites rely solely on icons, assuming users will intuitively understand their meaning, this can lead to confusion and inefficiency. Icons alone may not always convey the intended message, and without accompanying text, users might ignore the navigation entirely, as often seen with hamburger menus.

When users don't have to decode the meaning of each icon or hover/click to reveal hidden labels, it streamlines their interaction with the site. In applications used daily, such as social media platforms or productivity tools, users might eventually learn what each icon represents.

However, for websites visited occasionally, relying on icon-only navigation is less effective. Users are less likely to remember the meanings of the icons, leading to increased interaction costs and a higher likelihood of abandoning the site.

When designing a vertical menu, placing less important items at the bottom is a best practice to ensure usability. Due to varying screen sizes and the unpredictable location of the page fold, some menu items may not be visible without scrolling. Prioritizing menu items so that the most important ones are at the top and less critical ones are at the bottom ensures that key features are always accessible to users.

By organizing the menu this way, you can accommodate users using different screen sizes and ensure a smoother navigation experience. Users will appreciate not having to scroll to find critical items, and the less important links will still be available without cluttering the primary navigation space.

To ensure the vertical navigation is visually prominent, you can use a variety of visual assets and styling techniques:

• Colors: Different text or background colors can make the navigation stand out.
• Borders: Adding borders around the navigation can help separate it from the main content area.
• Typography: Using bold or distinct fonts for navigation items can make them more noticeable.
• Icons: Icons can quickly convey the purpose of each navigation item, making it easier for users to understand and remember.
• Spacing and padding: Adequate spacing and padding around navigation items can prevent clutter and make the menu easier to scan.
• Hover effects: Implementing hover effects, such as changing the background color or adding an underline when users hover over navigation items, helps provide immediate visual feedback.