No, this is not a restaurant menu. Hamburger Menu is actually a website term for the fly-out menu that one can click on to display or hide a website’s navigation bar. It is primarily used for the mobile display of websites on smartphone. Since a phone has limited screen space, it makes sense to hide the navigational menus.

In the past few months, that same icon has made its way to desktop websites and, though this trends seems to become quite popular, many have strong opinions on if this is a viable option for desktop users.

First, let take a look at a sample. You will notice on the screenshot below that there is an icon with 3 bars on top of each other on the top left corner. This is the hamburger menu.

If a visitor clicks on it, the menu would appear giving the visitor the ability to navigate other pages (see second screenshot).

Often times, the hamburger icon is on the top right corner but we wanted to show you an example where it is on the left side. It truly could be placed anywhere on a page.

For experienced Internet users, noticing and understanding the function of the hamburger icon is no problem. By minimizing the elements on the page (like a full width list of menus), a web designer can truly maximize the visual effect. This is especially true when using large images.

The problem is that many users would expect a standard menu when visiting a website on a regular computer. Therefore, they might search the page to find how to get to another page. This can cause great frustration from the part of the website visitors as people now expect to navigate websites in seconds without having to pause and think how to use the site.

In the worst case scenario, the visitor may not even notice the hamburger icon (or think it is just a design symbol) and assume this is a one page website.

It all goes back to who your target audience is. You have to truly understand who your customer base is, how experienced they are with Internet use and new trends, and even what their “online personality” is. You also should take into consideration your industry type; the trendier your industry, the best suited the hamburger icon is.

Choosing the right style and type of menu for your new website is extremely important and we suggest you have an in-depth discussion with your webmaster. Because you love the hamburger icon, it does not mean it is right for your site. The same is true for the opposite.