Are Drop-Down Menus Accessible?

[Webnauts]

Here I would like to start a discussion about the accessibility of Drop-Down Menus.

What do you think? Are Drop-Down Menus realy accessible?

[Narasinha]

What do you think? Are Drop-Down Menus realy accessible?

Very good question! Considering that most DHTML menu applications that I've seen rely on JavaScript, they wouldn't be accessible. Drop-down menus can be done in pure CSS though! Check out the demo at http://www.cookiecrook.com/bugtests/menus/demo.htm to take a look. I checked in IE 6 and Opera 7.12 and found no problems.

There is a good discussion about drop-downs and accessibility at http://www.markme.com/accessibility/archives/003027.cfm. Also there is an article entitled "Pure CSS Pulldowns" and Accessibility at http://www.maccessibility.com/archive/000592.php

They're definitely accessible, but usability comes into question when there are a large number of links. A screen reader would have to read the entire list to find the one you want.

Regards,
Narasinha

[Webnauts]

Here I am again. And mow my statement to this question:

Some sites using drop-down menu, would reload the page if the for example line (-----------) is selected, which can disorientate or confuse the user.

Another issue is if the user is navigating with a keyboard, he type's the first letter, he is brought to the first word in the list that begin's with that letter. When there are more items with the same first letter, then the user has a problem. If he type's a second letter in the word he seek's, he goes to the first word that begin's with that letter.

That is why I am am convinced, that selection lists are much more accessible and usable!

Is it only my point of view?

Further reading:
Drop-Down Menus - Use Sparingly: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001112.html
Users have difficulties with dropdown, fly out and rollover menus: http://www.uie.com/Articles/what_they_want_article.htm

[kneelsit]

IMO drop-down menus are only useful in special areas of the site e.g. for the expiry date on your credit card.

I have been to sites that also have these menus for the "state " of your address and only list U.S. states. There is a world out there, you know, beyond the borders of the U.S.!

I have adopted a practice of having all my pages set out clearly on the right of my page. This way as a visitor is reading the page the other topics are clearly visible to pique his/her interest. Also being on the right the spiders can get to the meat of my content first.

O.K. O.K. I know you techies out there will tell me there are workarounds to still have your menu on the left and keep the link coding at the end - but why bother changing my whole site around when my present set-up seems to work fine.

[Webnauts]

I guess it is fine having your navigation on the right side of your page.

Research shows that users click on topics in the right margin with much more efficiency than topics placed on the left because they are located much closer to the scroll bar. This allows users to quickly move the pointer between the scroll bar and the index items. Benefits are particularly strong for laptops.

One resource:
http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/jan02.asp

[Narasinha]

I guess it is fine having your navigation on the right side of your page.

Research shows that users click on topics in the right margin with much more efficiency than topics placed on the left because they are located much closer to the scroll bar. This allows users to quickly move the pointer between the scroll bar and the index items. Benefits are particularly strong for laptops.

One resource:
http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/jan02.asp

I hadn't thought about the benefit for laptop users. It definitely makes sense. I had navigation on the right side on a previous incarnation of my personal site. With all style information separate, it would be simple to change something like that.

[ScottNorton]

What do you think? Are Drop-Down Menus really accessible?

Because they are JavaScript driven, they'll have operational problems for users who have JavaScript turned off, or using browsers that don't support JavaScript. (Think of a poor blind pensioner in Appalachia, using Lynx on an old 286 machine on a slow dialup connection.) Also, things that appear and disappear are inherently trouble for blind users, whether they are using a screen reader or braille interface. They frequently don't see the new content.

On our sites, we address this need in two ways:

1. Make sure the top-level items in a cascading menu are clickable. Each one should take the user to a plain HTML page showing the subelements of that item. This helps keyboard-only users and those with motor problems.
2. Include redundant navigation links at the bottom of the page. These links duplicate the top-level items of the menu, and take the user to the same plain HTML page of subelements as described above. These links provide navigation for any browser that doesn't have JavaScript or can't can't render dynamic content or layers, and for users who can't perceive or manipulate the drop-downs.