Interfaces: Vertical navigation tabs
Tab-based navigation has remained popular for a while now, and for good reason; it mimics something we're already used to (folder tabs) and makes sense even for people who have never seen a website. I've noticed recently, though, that more and more websites are using vertical tabs, and I had to see it in action to understand exactly why it doesn't work.Of course, vertical tabs have a real-world counterpart, too; the index tabs we find in books (usually, really thick books). This makes sense for books: the pages are longer on the vertical, and you have to flip them from the edge because, frankly, that's the only way the book opens. File folders have tabs on the top because folders open at the top. Necessity is the mother of invention.
I discovered the vertical tabs on the right recently on the Chicago Sun Times website. By themselves, they seem fairly innocuous. Some of the labels aren't very clear, and the double-colon (::) doesn't mean anything that I'm aware of, but the tabs look like tabs. The problem is a simple one: even at a decent resolution, you have to scroll down 2-3 screens to see all of the options. That's just not going to happen for most users, and you have no chance to get an at-a-glance sense of what your options are. In addition, reading at a 90° angle is slow at best, and most people just aren't going to bother.
So, I've got to say: hooray for tabs, but let's keep them horizontal. Even though vertical tabs have a real-life counterpart, they aren't a good fit for the web at this point and just aren't friendly to the reader.
Sean
· Thursday, February 8Good catch on this. I had been bothered by vertical tabs but I assumed I was just having a negative reaction to what I consider to be a trite concept. I think you hit the nail on the head though. Vertical tabs are too difficult to read, makes to work to see them all, in addtion to reminding me of boring Human Resource policy manuals.
gio
· Tuesday, February 13i hate vertical navigation. dont use it unless you have a very good reason.
mhh5
· Saturday, February 24It all depends on how vertical tabs are used... I can't live with the vertical tabs in the lesser-known web browser, Omniweb... you just can't scroll horizontally that well, ya know? especially if you have a LOT of open tabs.
Dr. Pete
· Saturday, February 24I think it is a bit different for an application. Standard software knows the size of the screen and can adjust, and you have time to get used to it. Adobe Acrobat also uses the vertical tabs for some things (secondary functions), and they're not so bad for that. They also fit on one screen. For a website you've never visited, though, it's an entirely different story.