On 4/24/07, Shane Helm <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I thought I would bring this before the group to hear your opinions on using dropdown menus. How do you feel about them? What is the best method for usability?
I think they have their place, and with modern browsers it's not such a problem in terms of support. But then it depends just who the audience is, and how much backwards compatibility you really want. I think the biggest problem is usability, because a lot of people aren't comfortable using them and they can be a bit tricky if you have difficulty using a mouse. You also have to be sure that a user can access the deepest levels of the menu using just a keyboard, so you have to make sure to add :focus pseudo-class to your :hover CSS rules so that when a user tabs over a link its sub-menu pops up. But then this adds the problem of a user having to (potentially) tab through upwards of 20 or 30 links to get to the one that they want. In the end, if it's possible, it's probably best to have a well thought-out page structure, rather than a drop-down menu. Sometimes you just have to make a compromise if it's what the client wants. In terms of the method, I think the Suckerfish method [1] is the best way to do it. Of course it can be adapted to come up with any sort of results that you like, the CSS isn't too revolutionary. [1] <http://www.htmldog.com/articles/suckerfish/dropdowns/> -- Australian Web Designer - http://www.blakehaswell.com/ ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *******************************************************************
