What is the name for the horizontal tabs expanding / contracting kind of navigation?

Question

Can somebody tell me if there is a name for this kind of tab navigation implementation?

Answer 1

This is called an accordion navigation control, or accordion menu.

• Use when you want the benefits of a normal sidebar menu, but do not have the space to list all options.
• Use when there are more than 2 main sections on a website each with 2 or more subsections.
• Use when you have less than 10 main sections
• Use when you only have two levels to show in the main navigation.

Reference: Accordion Menu

Answer 2

This kind of accordion menus are mainly used for websites that are specifically designed for mobiles like smartphones. They take up less horizontal space and display the optimum information provided in the menu which can be collapsed and expanded giving access to various links in a portal or website.

Also used in responsive web designs where the entire navigation bar spans accross the screen in a tab or a PC screen whereas the same website is seen scaled down and succumbing itself to the accordion menu when we compress the browser window or open the site in a mobile browser with smaller screensize.