build/hamburgers/index.html


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	<title>Stop Using Hamburger Menus (Sometimes)</title>
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<h1 id="stop-using-hamburger-menus-sometimes">Stop Using Hamburger Menus (Sometimes)</h1>

<p>2023-05-05</p>

<p>I recently <a href="https://fosstodon.org/@tdarb/110264983268249599">tooted about my hatred of website hamburger menus</a> which was met with a surprising amount of support from other users. It seems like most people <em>don&#8217;t actually like hamburger menus</em>. So why do we, as developers, keep using them in our products and designs? Is it our only option? Or is it because we have become conditioned to expect it?</p>

<h2 id="the-core-problem-with-hamburger-menus">The Core Problem with Hamburger Menus</h2>

<p>The biggest headache when coming across these menus on the web is the complete disregard for <strong>accessibility</strong>. Performance and solid user experience is almost always thrown out the window in favour of a &#8220;prettier&#8221; design layout. You might have made the overall design &#8220;cleaner&#8221; for your users, but you sacrificed all usability to do so.</p>

<p>I challenge you to visit a webpage or web app with a hamburger menu and try to navigate solely with your keyboard and screen-readers (or better yet - try these screen readers on mobile!). Within seconds you will find a whole mess of issues. Now try the same test with JavaScript disabled&#8230; Yikes.</p>

<h2 id="but-i-have-no-choice">&#8220;But I Have No Choice!&#8221;</h2>

<p>I see this argument pop-up frequently when taking to design leaders or developers. I call bullshit on this excuse. You <em>absolutely</em> have the choice to avoid implementing bad designs - that&#8217;s your job! Either you&#8217;re not fighting hard enough against those pushing for it, or you&#8217;re just trying to build a &#8220;pretty&#8221; portfolio.</p>

<h2 id="best-alternative-sitemap-footer">Best Alternative: Sitemap Footer</h2>

<p>So instead of just whining about hamburger menus, I will actually offer up a solid replacement: <strong>sitemap footers</strong>. Simply place all your website&#47;application links into the bottom footer and link directly to them from your header. Be sure to also include some form of &#8220;Top of the page&#8221; link for quick access back to the initial scroll view.</p>

<p>That&#8217;s it. There is nothing else you need to do for this to <em>just work</em>. It might sound oversimplified and that&#8217;s because it is. Looking for an example? This very website utilizes this technique, so give it a spin! Try using just your keyboard or even better - use a screen reader. Disable JS and CSS and watch it work flawlessly still.</p>

<p><strong>Pros:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>Keyboard navigation accessible</li>
<li>Excellent screen-reader support</li>
<li>Works on all devices&#47;screens by default (no media queries!)</li>
<li>Stays out of the way until called upon (UX goodness)</li>
<li>Requires ZERO CSS or JavaScript</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Cons:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>Footer can become large with many links (although I <em>really</em> don&#8217;t see this as a big deal)</li>
</ul>

<h2 id="no-excuse">No Excuse</h2>

<p>There really is no excuse to still be using hamburger menus. Users expect them to be present only because we as designers have conditioned them think that way. They deserve a better experience on the web. The <em>least</em> we can do is improve something as simple as website navigation&#8230;</p>
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