Fancy Menus Can Confuse Users: Stick to Familiar Navigation for Better Results
Fancy or unconventional menus might look interesting, but they often confuse visitors. Stick to menu designs that people already know to make your website easy to navigate.
Surinder Thakur · AI Product Designer
Founder of ProUXUpdated
- Guideline · 760
Why It Matters
Why This Is Important
- Avoids Confusion: Simple menus help users find what they need without hassle.
- Reduces Mistakes: Familiar navigation means fewer wrong clicks.
- Keeps Visitors on Your Site: Easy navigation encourages people to stay longer.
- Boosts Sales and Return Visits: A user-friendly site increases the chances of purchases and repeat visits.
How to Improve
How to Improve Your Menus
1. Use Standard Menu Designs
- Stick with common layouts that users expect.
2. Avoid Full-Screen Menus
- Keep menus to a part of the screen to prevent confusion.
3. Keep Menus Consistent
- Don't change the menu as users scroll down the page.
Key Takeaway
In Summary
By using simple and familiar menus, you make your website more welcoming and easy to use. This leads to happier visitors who are more likely to stay, buy something, and come back again.
Questions about Fancy Menus Can Confuse Users: Stick to Familiar Navigation for Better Results
They help when a large catalogue genuinely needs its breadth shown at once, and hurt when they present more choices than can be scanned. The failure mode is a menu that becomes its own decision.
Click, on anything that matters. Hover menus open by accident, are unusable on touch, and are difficult to operate with a keyboard. Hover can supplement a click, but it should not be the only way in.
These answers come from nineteen years of UX practice. More about Surinder →
AI Product Designer
19 years designing products, mobile first, grounded in UX psychology.
Founder of ProUX.
