Now that we’ve already established how powerful a design element the hamburger menu can be for websites, let\u2019s focus on what more you can do to enhance its presence through animation.<\/p>\n
Hamburger menus help us achieve a variety of goals:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Sleek and minimal design<\/li>\n
- Emphasis on more important content or navigational elements<\/li>\n
- Simplified communication between the website and your visitor<\/li>\n
- Consistency between mobile and desktop design<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In addition, the hamburger menu has become a well-recognized symbol to many users. This now makes your job as a designer\/developer easier. Tuck your navigation away behind the menu symbol and then spend your creative energies on everything surrounding<\/em> the navigation \u2013 including the animation of the menu itself.<\/p>\n
Animation \u2013 no matter how small it is \u2013 helps bring visitors\u2019 focus to a menu that may be simple by its very nature, but still worthy of attention. And by securing their attention on the navigation, you can more effectively drive visitors through your conversion funnel.<\/p>\n
Think that animation might not be right for your hamburger menu or maybe you\u2019re just unsure of how it can make a difference? Check out these examples of slick hamburger animations in action:<\/p>\n
- \n
- MoreSleep<\/a><\/li>\n
- DesignCouch<\/a><\/li>\n
- The St. Louis Browns<\/a><\/li>\n
- Masi Tupungato<\/a><\/li>\n
- Threadslike<\/a><\/li>\n
- Zaarly Employee Handbook<\/a><\/li>\n
- Rokkan<\/a><\/li>\n
- Maecia<\/a><\/li>\n
- DeModern<\/a><\/li>\n
- Newton Running<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Note:<\/em><\/strong> Since this post was originally published, some of the sites shown below have updated their website design and may no longer use hamburger menus or the site itself no longer exists. Refer to the animated images for the hamburger menu examples mentioned in the content.<\/em><\/p>\n
1. MoreSleep<\/h3>\n
\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/more-sleep.gif\")
The MoreSleep website’s hamburger menu features a sleek animation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n For anyone who likes the idea of using the hamburger menu but is a little nervous about deviating from the standard top-aligned navigation many users are familiar with, check this one out at MoreSleep<\/a>. The navigation stays neatly tucked away inside the hamburger symbol. When someone clicks on it, however, that standard navigation layout drops down into place, giving this site a cool little animation while sticking to more traditional styling.<\/p>\n
2. Design Couch<\/h3>\n
\n![\"Designer](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/design-couch.gif\")
Designer Jesse Couch’s website features a different take on traditional hamburger menu design.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n This hamburger menu design plays around with traditional navigational layouts. The animation on this one at Design Couch is simple and clean as we watch the hamburger button change to an “X” while the navigation falls down into place. With another click of the button, the navigation hides away and the “X” goes back to the three lines that tell us where the menu items are.<\/p>\n
3. The St. Louis Browns<\/h3>\n
- DesignCouch<\/a><\/li>\n
- MoreSleep<\/a><\/li>\n