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In this article:

• What's changing
• When to use drop-downs
• How to prepare
• How to activate drop-downs
• Next steps
• How to get help

Note that this article covers functionality in the new WMS. If you haven't migrated yet, don't worry - you'll have access soon!

What's changing

The drop-down menu feature

In the old WMS, very few sites used drop-down menus. Most were large, complex sites using what's often called a "mega-menu." This is a wide drop-down with many options organized into sections:

In the new WMS, we have a responsive drop-down menu whose design adapts to the structure of the links in each section.

If the menu has only one level of "children," it will appear as a simple drop-down:

If a menu has two levels of children, it will appear as a mega-menu. For example, adding child pages under "MAA branches" and "Alumni groups" will display these new pages underneath their respective "parent" pages and expand the drop-down to a mega-menu:

Impact to left-hand navigation menus

When you activate a drop-down menu in the new WMS, it also changes how pages in that section display.听To avoid repeating menu items that appear in the drop-down, the WMS will聽automatically hide the left-hand menu聽from some pages.

Here's an illustration of how that works.

First, here is the default聽behaviour聽if there is聽no drop-down menu聽enabled. In this case, we're in the "Network" section. Pages in that section will have a left-hand section navigation that shows all the options in that section:

If there is a聽drop-down menu enabled聽for the "Network" section, the left-hand section navigation will be hidden on first-level pages in that section:

Second-level pages will still have left-hand section navigation.聽Right now, this shows all the options for the section. In the future, it will only show pages in the sub-section.听If the drop-down in our example is enabled, a sub-page of "Regional branches of the MAA" would have a left-hand menu. But it would only show other sub-pages of the "Regional branches of the MAA" page:

We're making this change because:

• It allows top-level pages to use a wider layout. Most site managers prefer this format.
• It avoids repeating the same navigation options in two places. This could be confusing for users and will waste time for people using assistive technology.
• It simplifies the left-hand navigation on deeper pages. This makes the navigation items easier to use and understand.

When to use this feature

Sections with multiple important sub-pages can benefit from a drop-down menu, which allows users to jump directly to the page they want. This is particularly helpful if:

• Users know exactly what they're looking for, or
• Seeing all the available options will help the user to choose the best navigation link to click.

Don't bother with a drop-down menu if there are only one or two pages in a section, or if the sub-pages aren't useful for most users.聽Skip the drop-down so users navigate directly to the main page for that menu option.

How to prepare

The drop-down menu works best when it matches your聽. To start, consider whether your users will benefit more from a聽.听聽has great advice for how to plan the main sections of your menu.

Flat menu structures

Flat structures use more main sections and will make content more visible. In a flat structure, there may be more menu items and the menu items may be more specific.

Flat structures let users skip directly to the page they want, without exploring multiple levels of options.听However, they can be overwhelming if there are too many options or confusing if the options are too similar.

A simple drop-down is a good support for a flat structure.听

Deep menu structures

Deep structures help organize a large number of pages into a structure that will fit the menu space. They may use general terms for items at the top level, but the options become increasingly specific as users navigate deeper into the section.听

Deep structures can help users sort through options and manage their attention. However, users may miss unexpected options because they need to pass through multiple levels to find what they need.听

础听聽is a good support for a deep structure, because it exposes more levels of content.听

Organizing your menu

In the new WMS, you can use a mix of simple drop-downs and mega-menus in the same site. This means you don't need to choose between an entirely flat or deep structure. You can adapt the drop-down for each section to work with its content.听

No matter what you choose:

1. Define a clear, usable set of top-level menu items.听These should accurately describe the main options on your site using words that your audience recognizes and understands.听
2. Look at the items in each section. Will you use a simple drop-down or mega menu?聽聽to use the structure that fits best.
   • If you're using a simple drop-down, you might only have two levels: the parent item (the section that appears in the main menu) and the "child" items that appear in the drop-down:
     
     In this example, you could have sub-pages under the child items (like "Preferred rates & discounts") but they won't appear in the drop-down menu. They will be visible in the left-hand menu if the user navigates to that option.
   • If you have a deep structure that would benefit from a mega-menu, you'll need to "nest" items like this:
     
     This will mean that "Eastern United States regional branch" and other branch pages are listed underneath the "MAA branches" section in the mega-menu.听
3. Plan to聽evaluate and test your menu聽to make sure that the words and structure are helpful for your users.听

How to activate drop-down menus

You can find a detailed and regularly updated description of聽.听

Next steps

If you're working on an existing site and you'd like to level up your menu, start with:

• 础听content audit聽to understand what content you'll represent in the site menu (and cut anything you don't need).
• Email us to聽request analytics reports.听Mention that you'll use them to organize your menu.听
• A review of existing聽usability data. This might include survey responses, user interviews, complaints, or common support requests.听

If you're starting fresh, you can:

• Conduct some user experience research聽to understand your audiences and their needs.听
• Review comparable websites (such as websites at peer institutions) to see how they organize their menu. Look for broad patterns among the sites that look most accurate and recent. Don't assume that other university websites are user-friendly and well-designed, even if they're part of reputable institutions.听

In either case, consider聽聽to validate your menu structure.听

Need more help?

Not sure how to use this feature, or need help making it work? Try our聽聽to get timely, hands-on help. (If you're considering this feature as part of a bigger project,聽.)

This feature is intended to empower site managers and improve usability.听If you're a site manager using this feature,聽聽to let us聽know what you think!