The Hamburger Menu Doesn't Work

The article argues that hamburger menus fail as a default mobile navigation pattern because they hide options users need to see. It says navigation should make choices visible at a glance, and that users often do not click a hidden menu because it gives too little indication of what is inside.

Reading notes

#

• The hamburger menu saves screen space on small devices, but the article treats that benefit as outweighed by weaker visibility and discoverability.
• The problem is framed as a lack of information scent: a three-bar icon does not hint at the content or destinations behind it.
• Users often need navigation to suggest their options, not just wait for them to ask for the menu.
• The article uses Facebook and NBC News as examples of products that moved away from hamburger-led navigation after poor results.
• Adding labels, overlays, or color did not fix the underlying issue when the navigation itself remained hidden.
• Variants such as a “Menu” label still perform poorly because they do not show what the user can expect to find.
• The article lists several reasons the pattern spread, including designer preference, trend-following, framework defaults, and slow feedback from the industry.
• It allows for exceptions, including trained users, repetitive-use tools, and secondary navigation items.
• As alternatives, it recommends visible tab bars, compact text menus in some cases, or designs that reduce the need for a main menu at all.
• Even sites with many menu items can prioritize the most important destinations and keep the rest behind a lower-priority option like “More…”.
• The closing point is that hamburger menus should no longer be treated as the default solution for new site designs.