Hierarchical, vertical navigation on the side of a page.
Status:
In use
About this element
Guidance
When to use
- To display a navigational hierarchy with one to three levels.
- To display the “sub-navigation” within a section of the website.
When to consider something else
- Small site. If the site has fewer than five pages, consider organizing the page without a navigational hierarchy.
- Existing navigation. If your page already has a horizontal and vertical navigation bar, consider ways to simplify your navigation system.
Usability guidance
- Show the current page. Indicate where a user is within the navigational hierarchy. Use the “active” state to show users which page they have navigated to.
- Keep the navigation links short. They can be shorter derivatives of page titles themselves.
- Always test your navigation. If the navigation hierarchy is too long, users may miss items at the bottom. If it’s too deep, users may miss items that require too many clicks. Usability test to find the right balance between breadth and depth.
Accessibility guidance - NEEDS REVIEW
- The width of the current menu item’s highlight border is set with the $theme-sidenav-current-border-width variable.