Sidebars in UI Design – Tips on How To Create Sidebars

Usability answers the question, ‘Can the user accomplish their goal?’ – Joyce Lee, Human Factors Design at Apple.

As UI/UX designers, we have one goal in mind: to make our users achieve their purpose on our website. Yes, we want to make it visually appealing (pretty), and we want it to be easily accessible. But what we truly want is to give our users what they’re looking for. And it all starts with introducing sidebars into our UI designs! 

First things first, let’s establish what sidebars are exactly. As the name suggests, a sidebar is basically a vertical column placed to the sides of a digital platform’s interface that gives our users extra information. Its content and layout can differ from website to website and platform to platform. Still, its main purpose is to complement the primary content and give our users a more accessible method of accessing relevant information, especially when it comes to mobile-design.

In the context of using sidebars in web design, sidebars often contain links to different pages, categories, or areas of the website. They can display menus, search bars, social media links, advertisements, and other content. On the other hand, in applications, sidebars help users navigate between different views or functionalities. They can host icons, buttons, or text links representing specific actions, settings, or categories relevant to the app.

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Why Should We Use Sidebars?

Find out when and why should you use sidebars in UI design:

• To increase engagement and brand awareness;
• To highlight important content and organize it hierarchically;
• For cross-Selling and upselling opportunities – especially for eCommerce platforms;
• To increase the length of stay our users and the number of pages they view – good for SEO;
• To reduce bounce rate – also good for SEO;
• To promote our social media platforms;
• To enhance readability – people focus most of their attention on the left side of the page. 

Compared to other UI design elements, there is no cookie-cutter recipe when it comes to sidebars. They can be used for different purposes and in different circumstances. And it’s up to us when and how to use it. However, here are some of the common elements that we could use in our design when creating a sidebar:

• Navigation Links – The primary purpose of a sidebar is to provide easy access to different sections or pages of the website or application, and navigation links are indispensable.
• Icons or Symbols – These visual cues help our users quickly recognize the purpose of each link without relying solely on textual descriptions.
• Search Bar – This is especially useful for eCommerce or heavy-content platforms. 
• Call-To-Action Buttons – Sidebars often feature essential CTAs that prompt our users to take specific actions, such as signing up for newsletters, subscribing to services, or initiating contact. 
• Social Media Links – These can help us promote our social media presence and expand our brand’s online presence. 
• Progress Indicators – This can include progress indicators that show our users their current position and remaining steps.
• User Profile – We can include account settings, preferences, and personalized content. 

Remember! Sidebars should add value to our project, not clutter it. If done correctly, it could complement our UI/UX design, and it could also increase engagement and sales. So, how do you create sidebars that are efficient and user-friendly? 

Here are some tips that every UI/UX designer should follow when designing sidebars: 

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1. Plan Your Layout!

This is a rule of thumb in every design. Think about what you need sidebars for, where you plan to place them on the page, and what they will include. Be mindful of the limitations of your screen page and the layout space. Don’t forget! Sidebars are ideal for desktop screens but not for any other smaller device!

Take into consideration the visual hierarchy of the website! Organize your pages according to their importance. Although it might look cleaner to organize them alphabetically, it will only hurt your platform. So, place the most important item for you at the top. 

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2. Never Forget The Logo!

The logo is our identity! The one element that our users will surely remember. In fact, 75% of people identify and associate a brand simply by looking at its logo. So, don’t forget to include the logo in our sidebars, as it creates a consistent visual experience for users across different pages and interactions. Even more so, the logo is also a functional part of the sidebar because it stands as a hyperlink to the main page of the platform. 

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3. Use Icons and Accordions

Every UI designer knows how important icons are. And this statement is true in every situation – especially when it comes to sidebars. The most important rule in design is that it should be intuitive. For this reason, by adding icons and accordions, we can speed up our user’s visual scanning, making it easier for them to use our platform. 

But it’s important to note that we shouldn’t overdo it! Yes, icons are pretty. And as UI designers, we want to make our designs pretty. However, too many icons and accordions might make the design look bloated, resulting in visual noise. Even more so, we must be careful not to add icons that are not as distinctive as we might think. 

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4. Let Users Control the Sidebar

When creating a design, the worst part is not knowing if everyone will like it. And most of the time, we can’t control this. We can test it to see what the majority of users like, but we can’t please everyone. However, for sidebars, it can be different. We can allow our users to resize the sidebar – whether to make it larger or smaller or we can even let them hide it if they want to create more room.

Look at Slack! Slack ensures that users can interact with the platform according to their workflow preferences. Some users might prefer a wider sidebar with quick access to various channels or conversations, while others may prefer a more spacious main area for an uninterrupted focus on conversations.

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5. Emphasize the Active Link

User experience is needed in every design. As UI/UX designers, our goal is for our users to navigate through our platform effortlessly and find the information or features they need without any confusion or frustration.

The effective way to achieve this is by highlighting the active link in the sidebar. When users interact with a link or navigate to a specific section, it should be visually distinguishable from the rest of the links. This can be done through various visual cues, such as changing the color, adding an underline, or applying a different font weight to the active link.

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6. Include a Search Bar

Let’s face it – most of the time, we end up on a platform with a clear purpose. Whether it's to locate a specific feature, access particular content, or search for information, one thing is clear: we want to find it fast. 

By integrating a search bar in the sidebar, we allow users to quickly find pretty much everything they need without having to navigate through various menus or sections. This can significantly enhance the user experience, especially for platforms with extensive content or numerous features.

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7. Be Consistent! 

Consistency is a fundamental principle in UI/UX design. And this is the case for sidebars as well! Why? Well, when designing sidebars, maintaining consistency across the entire platform is a must. Not only that it ensure that our users can easily navigate and interact with our platform without any confusion or frustration, but it also avoids cognitive overload. 

If elements within the sidebar change their position, appearance, or behavior from one section to another, our users may become disoriented and lose their sense of location within the interface. Look at the Medium App! As I navigated through the app, we saw a flaw: the tab mysteriously disappeared when transitioning from the main page to the article view page, not knowing what to do next. Although it is a tab bar and not a sidebar, it’s still a great example of why we should always be mindful of consistency! 

We at uinkits understand the importance of great user experiences and creating amazing UI designs. That’s why we’ve developed a Figma UI Kit with design components that include these essential UI elements that enable you to design intuitive and user-friendly interfaces effortlessly.

“You press the button, we do the rest.” – Kodak.

Inspired by this iconic tagline from Kodak, we believe in simplifying the design process for you. Our Figma UI Kit, uinkits, is a complete design system with UI components that allows you, as a UI UX designer, to create your products as quickly as pressing a button.

Our design system includes UI components, icons, variables, cards, buttons and everything you need for your design process. All you have to do is take your UI design component needed, and you’re ready to use it in your designs!

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