Menus are now more present than ever, and they can be found in any website in different styles and layouts. They are top priority for designers when they are developing a website or application. Menus are so important since they help users navigate smoothly through content of a site as efficiently as possible, if designed well.

 

“Definition: Navigation menus are lists of content categories or features, typically presented as a set of links or icons grouped together with visual styling distinct from the rest of the design.” - (Whitenton, 2015).

 

Some of the most common menu styles are:

 

VERTICAL MENU: for certain websites they can improve the users browsing experience and make a site more accessible and easier to navigate. This can also bring a more modern impression if used correctly but it can also do the opposite if used wrong.

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PROS:

- Room for more topics content.

- Title headings can be longer as there is more room from text to be written horizontally.

- Implementation of new topic links can be applied easier and the list will always grow.

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CONS:

- Users my feel less comfortable as it may not be easy to find on the webpage.

- Logical order and design of website becomes less of a priority and unorganised.

- On majority of mobile devices due to limited screen space it tends to become into a hamburger menu.

- Hard to navigate if submenus are implemented.

 

HORIZONTAL MENU: A horizontal menu is a list of topics displayed as links at the top of the page, mostly found static and place on top the main content.

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PROS:

- Majority of known languages are read from left to right therefore, interaction with this menu style for users comes very naturally.

- They are used in many websites, so users are familiar with it.

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CONS:

- Limited space to work with, however, this is not bad but more thoughtful consideration with wording and amount of links.

- Takes up too much spaces gives room to submenus which will block content temporarily.

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These factors can lead to distractions which is one of the biggest systems of ADHD. Therefore, the last thing you want to do is create more by implementing unnecessary amount of information.

 

HAMBUGER MENU: was develop by Nor Cox in 1981 with the aim to serve as a simple way to inform the user that this button enclosed a list of items. This menu style was inspired by hamburger. which in themselves gather the different ingredients within itself.

Hamburger menus have become really popular and they can be located in many websites but in specific in the iterations of which can be accessed through smaller screens such as mobile phones and tablets, therefore it has become the go-to icon navigation buttons.

However, this also has its pros and cons:

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PROS:

- As mentioned before this icon is very recognizable as it can be found in almost every website.

- Simple ways to organise and hide information that it is not as important, but user may want to access.

- Great ways to place navigational buttons which will not affect the global aesthetic and use of the webpage

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CONS:

- It may communicate that the topics which are contained within this the menu are less important as they are not displayed in the main page statically.

- Engagement seems to decrees due to the increase on usage of mobile devices. Hamburger menus are located on the top corner of these devices which companies manufacturing them are competing on who is able to create the largest screen display.

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MEGA MENU: this menu style is usually implemented on websites that are quite large. In a world before the designing of this menu this amount of information which ends up being divided into multiple submenus which on large websites can definitely lead to unnecessary amount of them.

Mega menu is a drop-down menu with multi-level expansions that allows you pack your website’s entire navigation into a single menu. - (What is a Mega Menu? (With 10 Creative Examples) - Theme Junkie, 2021).

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PROS:

- Images can be added which can give a great insight of what the topic is going to contain.

- Useful methods to show everything that is available which can make it easier and faster for users to navigate to their goals.

 

CONS:

- This menu style is not compatible with mobile devices due to the style in which items are displayed it will take a lot of space when opening the menu.

- Slow page loading speed due to such big amount of links included within the navigation menu which will cause slow loading and if internet speeds are compromised this can be crucial to users with ADHD it triggers distractions.

 

BREADCRUMB MENU: visual guide which aims to communicate with users about the exact location in the navigation journey of the user which allows them to retrace their steps. (See example at headear)

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PROS:

- This style of menu navigation is very easy to use and takes up a little amount of bandwidth.

- Reduces unnecessary navigation in between pages which help users get to the information they are trying to reach without discouraging them or losing interest.

 

CONS:

- There is not a negative aspect of this menu which could impact the browsing experience of users with ADHD.

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Breadcrumb menu  was chosen as one of the menu styles as it was considered to be beneficial for users with this impairment as they research states its usability to reduce confusion and unnecessary navigation.

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