It’s very common for websites these days to feature a mega menu and full-screen dropouts, especially content heavy websites with tons of links. But designing an effective mega navigation is a tricky thing to do. As its an emerging design trends, there are no strict Do’s and Don’ts. One must keep his eyes open to notice mega menu trends which are gaining popularity across the design world. That said, here are a few mega nav trends which are growing in popularity across the design world:

1. Deep Level Categories

The column structure is the most valuable design style for a mega navigation. Under the column structure, a designer can label “categories” for links and thus deeper links can be created without using multiple flyout menus. A mega navigation dropdown can cover the entire page and 3-4 columns can be easily squeezed in one dropdown. The below-mentioned image shows the home page of Puma.

The ecommerce shop has a columnar structure broken down into categories based on demographics and items. Inside each mega nav, there are columns featuring different types of items (featured items, shoes, clothing, accessories and sport). The columns have their own headers which are more prominent than the rest of the links.

2. Full-Width Dropdowns

Not every site features this trend but it is gaining popularity these days. Huge mega navigation menus run across the entire width of the page hence creating enough room for desktop & laptop users. However, mobile users typically have hidden menus so the full effect is not visible anyways.

The below-mentioned image displays the menu of Pluralsight featuring a fullscreen mega menu. The content stays fixed at the same width as the page, however, the menu is spread across the screen. It’s a very eye-catching effect as it creates more room in the menu.

3. A mix of Images and Text

Visuals have a deeper impact as compared to any other type of content and hence adding more images to websites is a great idea. Visuals help in breaking the monotony of regular text we which we come across day in and day out. Needless to say, mega navigation menus work best on larger screens so there’s a lot of room for images.

Take a look at the Sears website.

They have smartly broken up their navigation into multi-level categories using links as well as images. A few of the top categories have images of kitchen appliances, mattresses, and home furniture. On the other hand, the deeper categories include direct links to items like cutlery and tableware.

4. Alternate Dropdown Techniques

There’s no harm in being a little experimenting with your mega navigations. It’s best to keep analyzing different techniques, methods etc. to understand what can best work in your case. Some websites don’t shy away from pushing the limits and add different aspects like animations, multiple columns, and even flyout menus that appear out of mega navs. The goal is to design a menu which is usable and works well.

The typical mega nav menu on The Open expands while hovering and the entire page gets pushed down to make room for the new menu. Unlike most of the mega navs, this one animates down while moving all the page content lower. It might not seem to be a perfect idea for every website but it’s definitely a unique one. You can run some A/B tests to compare the usability.

If you’re looking to design or redesign your content heavy website, talk to our design experts and understand how you can display your content in the best possible way using mega navigation menus.

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