Desktop Website - Navbar - How to communicate that a menu item has both Onclick and Onhover functions?

Question

My query is for Web - Desktop.
I have a list of 6 items in the primary header. Out of which 2 items needs to be functional on click and on mouse hover. Rest 4 are functional on click only.

OPTION1    OPTION 2    OPTION3 ||    OPTION4 ||    OPTION5    OPTION6

|| - An affordance(usually a downward arrow) to feel the Onhover function

Option 1,2,5&6 have Onclick function, Option 3&4 have both Onhover and Onclick functions.

How to effectively communicate this? Currently users tend to believe that either the menu item is functional on hover or on click. But not both. This is what I have found with Usability Testing.

Answer 1

Considering your comments, and that this question has been discussed in detail here -

1) You could try renaming the Menu item, and call it something more specific. Say, "Other Smartphones?", "All Smartphones" etc. This can then help establish to the user, the content behind the menu.

2) Next, you could leave the click action on the parent node as is, but also supplement the "All" option in something like a sub-menu, giving equal importance to the nav-items. See a quick mockup attached.

Answer 2

Your question seems similar to this other one. Basically, there will be people who think buttons respond on hover and others on click. There is no effective way to indicate that an element will work on hover or on click, so you need to adapt to users behaviours and possible interactions.

Right now, to open the submenu some users might:

1. Hover the root element
2. Click the root element

There will be users that might click quickly the root element, before they realise it opened on hover, and be redirected.

To close the submenu some users might:

• Move out the cursor
• Click the root element

Those who clicked the root element to close the submenu will be redirected.

I think that it is more intuitive, and creates less conflicts, to show the submenu on a click event, and include an element in the submenu to visit your actual root element.