Keeping table header in vertical format?

Question

I'm designing a table. Would like to know the feasibility of this type of table? These values are a dummy.

I have added table wireframe before & after scroll. When you scroll the table header remains fixed. Will people get confused which is the table header?

As per UX does this type of table eases readability or is it easy to consume data points? Or Is it difficult to read/consume data?

Reason: The container width is 980px out of which 200px is occupied by tab i.e index. I cannot utilize space on top of the container as I've main navigation on top.

Answer 1

Imho, horizontal scroll for a data table is not recomended unless it is very much inevitable. Let me first list out some of the well known reasons for not using Horizontal scroll:

• a. Vertical scroll has been the general norm.
• b. Mouse device provides a easy scroll wheel helping users scroll vertically much faster and this doest not support horizontal scroll, making the user put extra effort to scroll horizontally.
• c. Its hard to let the users know how much more content is there for them to see when they are scrolling horizontally.

Here are some of the links where you can read more on these:

• NNG
• Expereince UX
• Usability Geek

After all this, here is what can be recomended for using a horizontal scroll:

1. Distinguish the header column in a noticable way for user. From your design, it can be observed that it is already considered.

2. Fix the header column, so that user can relate the header to the values when user scroll to see the extended columns.

3. A visual cue like shadow for the header column might help user understand that the header is fixed.

4. If possible let the users know how much more data is there which needs the user to scroll to see that part of the data.

   Hope this helps.