CSS menu desktop to mobile transation issues?

[RyanReese]

@brothercake

It’s not about what I want, it’s about what provides good usability for keyboard users. Arrow keys are not an optional niche feature, they’re a core requirement that no menu should be without.

I agree.

@brothercake

they don’t have any such issues if they’re done properly.

From what I gather, none of them are done properly, it seems. So that makes me weary of falling to be a statistic.

@brothercake

clearly we’re not going to agree on this

You don’t agree on this? This was my point, stated a while ago. If you don’t agree with that, then good luck with your coding.

@RyanReese

My point is, doing anything more than adding functionality to menus (JS) is unnecessary. I think we can agree to that, yes? CSS menus doing 90% of the work is ideal, then some cherry on top with Javascript.

A whole menu in Javascript is just plain silly. RELYING on Javscript, is plain SILLY.

[brothercake]

I mean we’re not going to agree over whether click or hover is better

All I was ever trying to say is that you can’t make menus with pure CSS. And we clearly agree on that.

As to how much JS you use, what you use it for, what behavioural model you implement – we could debate the tits off that all day and there are arguments on all sides.

But I won’t deny – most web menus are really bad! Most web everything is really bad, but I don’t like to dismiss an idea just because most implementations of it are bad, when I know that it can be done properly.

[PaulOB]

@brothercake

Oh okay, it just looks like you can’t because there’s no focus indication on the submenu items.

There should be an underline on focus on that one (on the sub menus). It seems to work for me.

@brothercake

And unless I’m missing something, you appear to be using JS to trigger the menu opening – they don’t open if JS is disabled – so it’s not pure CSS.

Those ones will work on hover without JS. The only problem is that the hamburger menu won’t open the menu for mobiles with js disabled although I know I could get around that with the ‘checkbox hack’ (but I still wonder if that’s abusing form elements a little).

The main point of having the click menu is to make them work for touch devices also without doing too much work. I do still prefer to use click menus rather than hover as having the hover flick on and off while using the page is annoying and if you use hover intent they become sluggish.

All in all we are probably better off not using them at all

I hate it when a client presents a massive multi layered dropdown and then also wants it to work on mobile

[RyanReese]

@PaulOB

I hate it when a client presents a massive multi layered dropdown and then also wants it to work on mobile

We have that problem here at work, and I’m in love with this solution (we use Foundation here so it works out…)

http://foundation.zurb.com/docs/components/topbar.html

@PaulOB

All in all we are probably better off not using them at all

Yessss.

[brothercake]

@PaulOB

All in all we are probably better off not using them at all

Yeah man, dropdown menus are sooo 2003

[Ohnoo]

Well I have just sat back and listened to the conversation.

I gather that unless some new supersolution comes along that this is just something that can not have one right answer, kind of like is the glass half full or half empty.

I guess I will just pick something and go from there. One advantage I do have is a group mail list for notices in the community. I know most everyone on the list so I can have them play around with the site for a few days before making it live. I can make adjustments based on their thoughts.