What are Mega Menus in UI Design and How to Use Them?

Mega menus can be seen on some of the most popular websites, from UI UX designer platform Dribbble to the world-famous clothing apparel Adidas. But what exactly are they?

Websites and apps are great spaces for virtually anything a person would like to do. Want to purchase the latest trends in fashion? There are countless websites for that. Want to book a flight to a tropical island? 

There are also many apps to choose from. One of the most important elements of websites and apps is their menu. This component is essential because it supports the organizational aspect of UI UX design and makes the navigation process and overall user experience more enjoyable. 

Sure, everyone has heard about it and is probably very familiar with the menus. But what about mega menus? Although this term may be less widespread among people who are not part of the UI UX design industry, they are more common than many would think. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the universe of mega menus.

Mega menus are UI elements that use large pop-up windows to showcase lists of items that would otherwise not be available. These two-dimensional expandable menus offer users a seamless navigation through dozens of links. These alternatives are very suitable for websites that have many categories and subcategories, as they provide a lot of space in which these entries can be integrated. 

With a great visual impact, mega menus can create a more memorable user experience. Many websites and apps of famous brands, such as Figma, Adobe, Atlassian, Zara, H&M, Oracle, and so many others, use mega menus in their UI UX design.

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Mega Menus Design Principles

Explore the principles of using Mega Menus in your UI/UX design:

• Intuitive Labels. Users should be able to determine what each entry of the mega menu refers to without a lot of effort. This is why we should use a friendly, accessible, and recognizable language register for it. It can also be helpful to use common terminology in terms of website design to make these menus more user-friendly. For example, the section in which details such as number and address can be listed as Contacts.
• Grouping Options. Although mega menus offer more space for large menus content-wise, we should not risk overcrowding them. A good solution for avoiding this is grouping related items into subcategories.
• Spacing. Links are a crucial part of any mega menu. A mistake we should avoid is not allowing enough space for them to be clickable. Therefore, it is important to consider this visual element, as it directly impacts usability.
• Pay Attention to Triggers. It is important to pay attention to how a mega menu can actually be actioned—if users keep triggering it by accident, it means something is wrong with it, and it can easily become frustrating. 
• When not to Use. Mega menus are not the best match for certain contexts. For instance, websites that are not heavy on content or act as brochures are not very suitable for mega menus.

There are multiple aspects based on which UI UX designers organize and perceive menus. In general, mega menus can be split into categories based on their layout. 

• Horizontal Mega Menu

The most common type of mega menu is displayed horizontally at the top or bottom of a web page. These menus are most suitable for websites with a significant number of categories and subcategories because they offer the necessary space.

• Vertical Mega Menu

As the name suggests, these menus are displayed vertically and are usually part of sidebars and fly-out menus appearing from the page's side. These are great fits for web pages that lack horizontal space.

• Tabbed Mega Menu

Tabbed mega menus are based around a tab navigation that allows users to choose between various categories available in the menu. One of the main advantages of implementing tabbed mega menus is that it simplifies content organization.

• Engagement. One of the main advantages of designing a mega menu for a web page is that it has been proven to result in higher user engagement. Because mega menus take up so much space, users are more likely to click on their entries.
• Navigation. Another popular reason why designers implement mega menus is that they support easier and more straightforward navigation. Users find mega menus intuitive.
• Increased Mobile UX. Websites are not the only ones that can benefit from integrating mega menus. A good mega menu will be responsive and create a user-friendly interaction. Besides this, mega menus can amp up the aesthetical side of an app by making it more fitting for the brand identity.
• Discoverability. Because mega menus have the capacity to integrate more entries and categories, users will not need to search for countless sources. This can increase the overall discoverability of a website or an app. For example, let’s say you were designing the website for a virtual library. A mega menu would be way more convenient than separating categories into different websites to fit them.
• Blogs. One of the most appropriate usages of mega menus is for magazines and websites. This is because the UI design of these includes a variety of topics and news.

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!